With riot police out in force on the streets of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the oath of office Wednesday and began a second term as Iran's president. Ahmadinejad, 52, was formally sworn in before Iran's parliament as security forces guarded the building and the streets nearby in anticipation of possible protests. He vowed to promote religion and morality, and support righteousness and spread justice. "I will guard the power that the people have entrusted in me as the sacred trust," ...

On Sunday, Iran's state TV broadcast a wrenching and stunning 20-minute confession from a well-known public figure. But former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a reformist cleric, was clearly not himself. For one, he was not allowed to wear his clerical robe, and he had lost visible weight. "I believe the reformists had prepared for two or three years for this election in order to limit the powers of the Supreme Leader," he declared, reading from a piece of ...

Four years ago, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei kissed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the cheek before he was sworn in as Iran's new leader. Song and prayer heralded a new start for Iran with the hard-line Tehran mayor, virtually unknown to the outside world in 2005. He promised to stamp out corruption and fight for justice. With time, the world came to know the Iranian leader with his signature beige jacket and combative -- often anti-Israeli -- rhetoric. Monday, Iran's supreme ...

Iran's supreme leader endorsed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term in office on Monday, state-run Press TV reported. Under Iran's constitution, the incoming president must receive the supreme leader's approval before being sworn into office. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's endorsement is the first step in that process. Ahmadinejad will be sworn in as president Wednesday in a ceremony to be held in parliament. The incumbent was declared the winner of the June 12 election with almost two-thirds of ...

Iran's controversial president defended his government's relationship with the country's supreme leader on Friday, disputing charges of a political rift. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking to a gathering in Mashad in northern Iran, rejected claims by people who have attempted to cast the relationship between his government and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "as tainted," according to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency. "They are ignorant of the fact that our relationship with the respected leader is far above the framework of politics and ...

In death Neda Agha-Soltan became the face of Iran's post-election demonstrations. On Thursday, the religiously significant 40th day after her fatal shooting, mourning ceremonies were planned in Tehran to remember her. For Iranians, a predominantly Shiite Muslim population, the 40th day marks the last official day of mourning. Agha-Soltan, 26, was shot in street protests on June 20. Her last moments were captured on a shaky video, probably shot with a cell phone, and dispatched for the world to see. ...

The Iranian government has released 140 people arrested in the aftermath of the Islamic republic's disputed presidential election, a semi-official news agency reported Tuesday. Kazem Jalali, spokesman for the parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, said the detainees posted bail and were freed from northern Tehran's Evin Prison during an inspection of the prison by a task force made up of commission members, the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reported. However, Jalali said Tuesday's visit did not prompt the ...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has appointed Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie as his adviser, a day after the controversial political figure resigned as first vice president, Iran's state-run news agency reported on Saturday. Ahmadinejad praised Mashaie as a pious, trustworthy, and self-sacrificing human being in his letter of appointment, the IRNA report stated. It comes after Iran's Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered Ahmadinejad to nullify Mashaie's appointment to the key post of first vice president. Mashaie announced he would resign ...

A fundamentalist supporter of Iran's president urged him Friday to reconsider appointing a controversial confidant to the post of Iran's top vice president. According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Khatami said in a sermon during Friday prayers that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should rethink the appointment of Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie. During his Friday sermon, the ayatollah said he regarded the present government to be legal, a reflection of his support for Ahmadinejad -- whose controversial victory in last ...

Iran's supreme leader believes the country's president should dismiss the top vice president, whose recent appointment has drawn criticism from conservatives, semi-official media reported Wednesday. The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency quoted the first vice speaker of the parliament, Hojatoleslam Seyed Mohammad Aboutorabifard, as saying that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei believes the president's choice for top deputy, Esfandyar Rahim Mashaie, should be removed. "The president has been advised about this view in a letter," Aboutorabifard told ISNA, the news ...