TEHRAN - Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed Hassan Rouhni as the country’s next president in a ceremony held here on Saturday.The ceremony came before the official inauguration of Rouhani slated to be held in the Iranian Majlis (parliament) in the presence of local and international participants on Sunday.

Rouhani won Iran’s presidential election on July 14, enjoying 50.7 percent of the votes far ahead of his five conservative- principle’s rivals.The ceremony was attended by a number of Iran’s high-ranking officials, including former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi- Rafsanjani, Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as a number of foreign guests.

The moderate cleric, Rouhani, will succeed the outgoing hardliner Ahmadinejad and will inherit his legacy of ailing economy and troubled foreign policy.He will officially assume presidency after an inauguration ceremony in the parliament on Sunday. According to some reports, he will announce his cabinet to the parliament in the oath ceremony, although he has two weeks to do so. (Xinhua)