New Iranian President sworn in amid mounting nuclear crisis

Iran’s new President has taken the oath of office defiantly vowing not to bow to intimidation as his country faces a mounting crisis over its nuclear ambitions. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is the former mayor of Tehran is a religious conservative who unexpectedly won a landslide victory in June. The 48 year old has called for a renewal of Islamic values and promised to fight corruption and promote justice for all Iranian citizens. Ahmadinejad replaces reformist cleric Mohammed Khatami. Diplomats expect the new leader to adopt a much tougher approach in the nuclear negotiations.

Today, Iran rejected an offer by the EU of incentives for a suspension of its nuclear fuel work. If Tehran does resume nuclear work, the EU says it will back US calls for UN sanctions. A team from the UN’s Nuclear watchdog is now on its way to Iran to install cameras at a key uranium conversion plant as work there is expected to resume as early as next week.

Copyright © 2012 euronews