Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Thursday that the Iranian people is in need of all powers working together in cooperation.

Raisi was sworn in today, declaring in his inauguration speech that the "Iranian people are adamant on treading the path of the revolution, and their will is that the country be placed on the road of justice," liberty and dignity.

#القسَم | الرئيس الإيراني #إبراهيم_رئيسي: "أعتز وأفتخر أن أكون خادماً للشعب الإيراني".#إيران pic.twitter.com/VbVLLCBsTW

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 5, 2021

The new president of Iran said the "elections were the start of the people's participation, not its end," noting that "we want to continue our constructive cooperation with all the world's countries."

Regarding the new government, Raisi explained he wants to form "a government that fights corruption," and that "we will stand beside the oppressed wherever they may be, in Europe, America, Africa, Yemen, Syria, or Palestine."

"We will not be silent towards oppression and crimes and aggression against the rights of innocent civilians, defenseless wherever they may be," Raisi said.

He commented on popular demands, stating that "the people want cultural and social freedoms to be upheld as laid out, and that the Islamic Revolution be truly achieved...the people to improve their livelihoods through the removal of obstacles."

Raisi emphasized his "commitment to the principles of the Islamic Revolution," and that his government will work on "creating a maximum of transparency in the economy" as well as "drying up the roots of corruption" and "strengthening our national economy."

"We pray...that we can create a bright future for our dear Islamic Iran and its good people," he said.  

#القسَم | الرئيس الإيراني #إبراهيم_رئيسي: "نحن سنكون إلى جانب المظلوم أينما كان في #سوريا أو #فلسطين أو #أفريقيا أو #اليمن".#إيران pic.twitter.com/Z31mJNJ8KG

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) August 5, 2021

Raisi: We extend our hand in friendship to all regional countries, especially our neighbors

On foreign policy, the President said, "the pressure and sanctions policy will not deter the Iranian people from demanding their legal rights, including its right to development."

"The power that Iran possesses is the guarantee for security and stability in the region," Raisi declared, emphasizing that "not only does foreign presence in the region not solve any problems, rather it itself is the problem."

He also said that "regional crises must be resolved through intra-regional dialogue," and that his policy will be to "extend our hand in friendship to all regional countries, especially our neighbors.  He considered strengthening relations with neighboring countries to be a priority in his administration's foreign policy.

As for the Iranian nuclear program, Raisi said it is "peaceful," and that "nuclear weapons are forbidden, as per the fatwa of the leader, and these weapons have no place in Iran's defensive strategy." 

He also stressed the importance of "removal of all sanctions from Iran, and we will support all diplomatic proposals that serve this goal."

"The world," Raisi said, "is in a state of change, and the realization of peoples' interests is conditioned on the understanding of this new world," adding that "a successful foreign policy will be a balanced foreign policy."

Before Raisi's inauguration speech, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, "We must put in place a 5-year plan and short-term program that would allow us to overcome our present obstacles and crises."

More than 115 foreign officials took part in the ceremony, in addition to representatives of tens of international and regional organizations, as well as prominent religious and cultural figures from around the world.