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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iran\u2019s president on Wednesday, state radio reported, after a disputed re-election that has exposed a deep schism in the Islamic Republic\u2019s clerical establishment.<\/p>\n
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Despite intense political feuding, Ahmadinejad will take his oath of office before parliament and then has two weeks to present a cabinet to the conservative-dominated assembly for approval.<\/p>\n
Opposition websites said supporters of Ahmadinejad\u2019s main rival, the moderate Mirhossein Mousavi, were planning to protest against the swearing-in ceremony.<\/p>\n
A witness reported seeing hundreds of Mousavi supporters walking around the parliament building despite a heavy presence of riot police and Basij militia.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there is no clash,\u201d the witness said. \u201cMobile phones have been cut off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vote, which leading moderates say was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad\u2019s re-election, sparked Iran\u2019s worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The authorities say the vote was \u201cthe healthiest\u201d election since the revolution.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of France, Britain, Italy and Germany have all decided not to congratulate Ahmadinejad on his re-election.<\/p>\n
But when asked whether Obama recognised Ahmadinejad as Iran\u2019s president, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: \u201cHe\u2019s the elected leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mousavi and fellow defeated moderate candidate Mehdi Karoubi reject the new government as illegitimate, defying Iran\u2019s most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who backed the election result and endorsed Ahmadinejad.<\/p>\n
At a ceremony on Monday, Khamenei described Ahmadinejad as \u201ccourageous, hardworking and wise\u201d.<\/p>\n
Leading moderates, including former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, were absent from the ceremony and hundreds of Mousavi supporters gathered at several Tehran squares but were dispersed by riot police.<\/p>\n
Disarray<\/strong><\/p>\n At least 20 people have been killed since the June 12 election and hundreds have been arrested.<\/p>\n At a mass trial on Saturday more than 100 reformists, including several prominent figures, faced charges that include acting against national security by fomenting post-election unrest.<\/p>\n The next session of the trial, denounced as a \u201cshow trial\u201d by Khatami and Mousavi, will be held on Thursday.<\/p>\n Ahmadinejad came under pressure from his hardline allies over his initial choice of first vice-president. He delayed for a week before obeying Khamenei\u2019s order to dismiss Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie.<\/p>\n The disarray over Mashaie will likely complicate the president\u2019s choice of a new cabinet to present to parliament, which may object if he names only members of his inner circle.<\/p>\n Tehran\u2019s diplomatic relations with the rest of the world are determined by the country\u2019s paramount authority Khamenei.<\/p>\n Iran accuses the West, particularly the United States and Britain, of having fomented election unrest in the country to try and topple the clerical establishment. Western countries deny the charge.<\/p>\n No change in foreign policy means no change in the standoff between Iran and the West over the country\u2019s nuclear programme, which the United States and its European allies suspect is a front to build weapons, something Iran denies.<\/p>\n Source <\/p>\n