Delegations from 70 countries to attend inauguration of Iran’s new president

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Delegations from at least 70 countries, including high-ranking officials, will take part in the oath-taking ceremony of Iran's newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday.

Representatives from African, South American, Asian, and European countries have already arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran for the ceremony, which will start at 16.00 local time (1230GMT) in the Iranian parliament, locally known as Majlis.

Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old veteran reformist lawmaker and cardiac surgeon, defeated his conservative rival and former security body chief, Saeed Jalili, in a presidential runoff election on July 5.

He will succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash on May 19 in northwestern Iran, along with seven others, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The oath-taking ceremony comes two days after the formal endorsement of the new president by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in line with Article 110 of Iran's Constitution.

- Türkiye, Egypt

Among the notable attendees are Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the top diplomats of Egypt and Sudan.

Iran does not have diplomatic relations with both Sudan and Egypt.

Earlier this month, Tehran and Khartoum agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties after seven years of suspension after Sudan received the new ambassador from Iran and deputed its own envoy to Tehran.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Hussein Awad in a meeting with Iran’s interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani in Tehran on Tuesday commended the role of Amir-Abdollahian in resuming diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Bagheri Kani, in his remarks, described the top Sudanese diplomat’s visit to Tehran as an indication of the serious determination of the two sides to boost bilateral ties, state-run news agency IRNA reported.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Ati is also in Tehran to attend Tuesday’s oath-taking ceremony of Iran’s new president.

Iran and Egypt have also warmed up considerably in recent months amid speculations that the two sides are set to swap ambassadors.

Iran-Saudi détente paved the way for the restoration of ties between Iran and many regional countries, including Egypt, with Oman again playing the role of a mediator between them.

Iran’s relations with Egypt have been fraught since the 1979 Iranian revolution when former Iranian ruler Mohammad Reza Pahlavi sought refuge in the Arab country and eventually died there.

Enrique Mora, Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service, also arrived in the Iranian capital on Tuesday morning to attend the ceremony.

Relations between Iran and the European Union remain fraught amid a stalemate in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal, with tensions continuing to prevail between Iran and the European troika (United Kingdom, France and Germany).

Observers say relations between the two sides will likely improve under the new reformist government in Tehran, as Pezeshkian has vowed to increase engagement with Western countries.