Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi has been sworn into office as Iran‘s new president following his election victory in June.
Mr Raisi, a hardline cleric, succeeds Hassan Rouhani, seen in the West as a relative moderate.
It comes at a time of growing challenges for Iran, whose economy has been crippled by US-led sanctions.
There are also heightened tensions with foreign powers who have blamed Iran for a deadly drone attack on a tanker near Oman last week, which Iran has denied.
Two people – British and Romanian security guards – were killed when the MV Mercer Street, operated by an Israeli-owned company, was struck. Britain, the US and Israel accused Iran of carrying it out.
Tensions with the US have soared since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump pulled out of a multilateral deal over Iran’s nuclear programme and restored sanctions.
Mr Raisi said after being sworn in that he would support “any diplomatic plans” to lift sanctions.
“The Iranian people expect the new government to improve their livelihoods… All illegal US sanctions against the Iranian nation must be lifted,” he said.
Thorny negotiations were taking place in Vienna between Iran and other countries which are still part of the agreement to try to revive the frayed deal and lift sanctions. However the talks have been on hold for several weeks.
The battered economy has led to growing discontent among ordinary Iranians, who have seen a sharp rise in the cost of living. Iran has also blamed US sanctions for an acute shortage of medicines.
Alongside the economic crisis, Iran is battling the coronavirus pandemic. It is the worst-hit country in the region and has recorded its highest number of cases for the past three days running.
Iran has also been rocked by a wave of street protests in the south-west, triggered in part by severe water shortages.
Mr Raisi’s election came amid a record low turnout, with many Iranians either boycotting the polls or not voting out of apathy or disillusionment.
The 60-year-old is close to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and has been touted as a possible successor.
A former judiciary chief, Mr Raisi has been heavily criticised over his human rights record. Campaign groups have accused him of involvement in the executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.
Mr Raisi was one of four judges who sat on secret tribunals that came to be known as the “Death Committee” which condemned the prisoners to death. He has said the sentences were justified because then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa, or religious ruling.
The US imposed sanctions on Mr Raisi in 2019 for alleged human rights abuses.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")