Iranian President Pezeshkian takes oath of office

INA - BAGHDAD

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian took the oath of office to head the country in an official ceremony attended by PM Muhammed S. Al-Sudani upon an official invitation, in the presence of heads of state and government on Tuesday.

"Our government will work on comprehensive development and strengthening the economy as there will be a national consensus government representing all segments of the Iranian people. I call on everyone to cooperate to achieve development goals," said Pezeshkian in his speech after taking the oath of office in the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Iran - followed by the Iraqi News Agency - INA.

Pezeshkian added, "We will support the peace process in regional issues and call for cooperation to end regional problems," noting that "one of our priorities is developing relations with neighboring countries."

He pledged to strengthen ties with Islamic, regional, and world countries based on common interests, stressing, "We will seek to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran and will not accept the Western blackmail policy."