Photo by Reza Moattarian

After winning a hotly contested election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term.
He took the oath of office in the Parliament on Wednesday and has two weeks to introduce his cabinet to the legislature for a vote of confidencel, Presstv reported.
“I, as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, swear before the Holy Qur’an and the Iranian nation and God to be the guardian of the official religion, the Islamic Republic and the Constitution,“ he said at the ceremony.
More than 5,000 security and police forces were deployed around the Majlis building in central Tehran. Sniffer dogs were also used to secure the area.
Head of the Leader’s Office Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, heads of the three branches of the government, Guardian Council head, Ahmad Jannati, and Tehran-based ambassadors attended the ceremony.
Ahmadinejad was declared the victor of the bitterly disputed June 12 presidential election with almost two-thirds of the vote.
The president’s victory was met with opposition from his three other rivals and an outpouring of anger demonstrated in mass rallies across the country with protestors dubbing the poll as rigged.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Monday confirmed his support for the president, describing him as “courageous, astute and hardworking“ but urged Ahmadinejad to heed the views of his “critics“.

Strong Message
Ahmadinejad in his speech sent a strong message to the West, saying he is not awaiting their messages of recognition or congratulation.
The president struck a defiant note and said “oppressive powers“ want to deal with the Iranian people with “interference and foul language“.
He said “We will resist the oppressors and work to correct the discriminatory global order to the benefit all the nations of the world.“
Ahmadinejad took a swipe at the western powers, including the United States, France and Germany, for their decision not to congratulate him on his reelection.
“We heard that some western leaders have decided to recognize but not congratulate the new government ... Well, no one in Iran is waiting for your messages,“ he said. “Iranians neither value your scowling and bullying nor pay attention to your smiles and greetings.“

Moscow welcomes the work of EU monitors in Georgia, deployed in the Caucasus state a year ago after the Russian invasion, but is opposed to the United States having a role, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
In a brief war last August, Russia crushed Georgia’s attempt to retake its rebel province of South Ossetia. Moscow has recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another rebel region of Abkhazia, taking them under its security umbrella, Reuters reported.
Under a peace deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the European Union has sent 240 unarmed monitors to Georgia to oversee a fragile ceasefire. Georgia now wants the United States to join the monitoring.
“The presence of EU monitors on Georgian territory bordering South Ossetia and Abkhazia is an important stabilizing factor and we support such a presence,“ Lavrov told state-run television channel Vesti-24.
No one, except for Russia and Nicaragua, has so far recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
But Moscow, arguing that their separate status from Tbilisi must be recognized, has blocked access for monitors to both regions.
The monitors in turn complain that the lack of access restricts their ability to verify mutual accusations of blame for sporadic attacks on both sides of the de facto borders.
Russia sees the monitors as a force to prevent any concentration of Georgian forces in areas bordering South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgia, keen to get western support in its stand-off with Russia, asked the United States last month to join the EU monitoring mission--although the EU itself has not made any such request to Washington.
Lavrov said the Georgian request was part of a plan to drag the United States into a confrontation.