Rouhani’s inauguration: a sign of international support

Iran’s President Rouhani will be officially inaugurated for another four years this Friday after being re-elected back in May. Federica Mogherini will attend in her role as chair of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA). As there have been growing signs from the US that Trump is looking to subvert the JCPOA, this is a sign of push back from the EU as it looks to preserve and strengthen the current relationship.

In addition to Mogherini, Iran says that delegations from over 100 countries will be taking part in the inauguration ceremony showing a strong level of international support to the country. Alistair Burt, Minister for Middle East and North Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will attend on behald of the UK. High level representatives from China, Russia, France and Germany will all be present as well as the secretary generals of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as Developing-8, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly.

With the new term, the Iranian cabinet is expected to see some changes.  Unconfirmed rumours on Twitter are that the Central Bank Governor, Mr Seif, will be shuffled out and replaced by Mr Khazaee, former Iranian Ambassador to the UN and now President of the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran. Foreign Minister, Mr Zarif, Oil Minister, Mr Zanganeh and Mr Akhoundi, Minister for Roads and Urban Development, according to the same source, are set to stay. No official announcements have been made as yet.