Iran Plans Gala Presidential Inauguration

Tehran: EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini besides dozens of  heads of states and governments will attend  the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on August 5 and the large presence of foreign delegates at the event will set a record in the country.

Alireza Rahimi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's Parliament (Majlis), said on Monday that the upcoming inauguration ceremony would be unprecedented in Iran's history in terms of the number and ranks of the foreign dignitaries taking part.

Rouhani, first elected Iran's president in 2013, re-ran for office in the May 2017 election. He garnered 57 percent of the votes in the election, which saw a turnout of 73 percent. He is now to be officially inaugurated for another four years as the country's chief executive at the Parliament on August 5.

Rahimi said the presence of seven presidents and 18 parliament speakers at the swearing-in ceremony had been confirmed so far.

Mogherini will arrive in Tehran on August 5 in her capacity as the head of Iran-5+1 Joint Commission, to attend President Rouhani's swearing-in ceremony, announced Catherine Ray, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief.

In addition to Mogherini, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has also declared that he will visit Tehran on August 5 for the ceremony.

Qatar, which is at odds with Iran's arch foe Saudi Arabia, will be sending a high-ranking delegation, reports from Doha said.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani confirmed the attendance of a high-ranking Qatari delegation in President Rouhani's inauguration ceremony during his meeting with senior Iranian MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi in Doha on Saturday.

According to Rahimi Russia, Britain, and China would be represented at the levels of vice president, deputy foreign minister, and deputy prime minister.

The Iranian MP said the planned presence of the European Union (EU)'s top diplomat, High Representative Federica Mogherini, at the event showed the bloc's resolve to preserve and strengthen its ties with Iran, including in the framework of a 2015 nuclear deal.

The high level of participation in President Rouhani's second inauguration would be sending "an important message" to the world, especially at a time when the United States has sought to provoke world opinion against Iran, Rahimi said.

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 (APA) will also attend the inauguration ceremony, Rahimi said.

Special security measures

Earlier, Iran's deputy interior minister for security, Hossein Zolfaghari, said all necessary precautions, including security measures, had been taken for the upcoming event.

He said the level of security at the Iranian Parliament had been raised from "sensitive" to "critical" for the day of the inauguration given the high number of participating delegations.Saturday August 5 has been declared a holiday in the Iranian capital.