Protests as Iran's Ahmadinejad sworn in as president: Via Reuters.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iran's president on Wednesday in a ceremony boycotted by reformist leaders and parliamentarians and marred by street protests over his victory.

The 53-year-old hard-liner took his oath of office nearly eight weeks after a disputed election that unleashed the worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution and divided the political and clerical elite.

Ahmadinejad said Iran wanted peaceful coexistence with the world but would resist any "bullying" power.

"Internationally, we seek peace and security. But because we want this for all of humanity, we oppose injustice, aggression and the high-handedness of some countries," he said.

Former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who support Mousavi, boycotted the inauguration. The official IRNA news agency said most of parliament's 70 reformist legislators also stayed away.

Riot police were out in force in nearby streets. Witnesses said hundreds of supporters of Ahmadinejad's main political rival, Mirhossein Mousavi, gathered near parliament.

"I was beaten by police who wanted to disperse protesters," said a witness, who declined to give her name.
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Iran's Opposition Calls for Inauguration Protests: Via Voice of America.

Iranian opposition groups have called for a new round of street demonstrations Wednesday to coincide with the inauguration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term.

The country's reform movement says it plans to demonstrate outside parliament in Tehran, to protest the swearing-in of Mr. Ahmadinejad.

A massive security presence is expected outside parliament and in other areas of the capital during the inauguration ceremony.
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Iran Security Moves to Crush New Protests in Tehran: Via NYTimes.com .

Security forces began clashing with protesters shortly after they began massing in the streets of Tehran on Thursday evening, as an initially festive demonstration quickly turned grim, witnesses said.

Tear gas was fired into Lelah Park, they said, and a woman whose coat was covered in blood ran from Revolution Square, one of the main gathering spots during the initial weeks of protests over the June 12 election. She said that police officers were beating protesters.

It was the first protest in 11 days, and was called to commemorate the 10th anniversary of violent confrontations at Tehran University when protesting students were beaten and jailed. Iranian authorities had announced earlier that the demonstration was illegal and would be met with a “crushing response.”

But at the end of the work day, hundreds of protesters began packing the streets of one area of Tehran, chanting, clapping and sitting in jammed traffic as drivers honked their horns, witnesses said. Families brought their children. Many held a hand in the air in the defiant V for victory.

The security forces quickly moved in.
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The Iran chessboard, as seen by Team Obama: Via ForeignPolicy.com | The Cable.

As the Obama White House has recalibrated and toughened its daily talking points on Iran in response to the violence of the post-elections dispute, the impression has emerged in some quarters that Washington is flustered by recent events, and indeed, that a wrench has been thrown in President Obama's hopes for engaging Tehran.

But recent administration assessments and conversations with outside government Iran watchers and non-proliferation experts offer a different view in which Obama's hand may actually have been strengthened and Iran's weakened by some overlooked recent events. Among the factors they cite: the outcome of recent elections in Lebanon, in which a pro-western coalition won a majority over a coalition that includes the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah, the eagerness of Iran's leading regional ally Syria to engage with Washington, Arab states' generally positive response to the Obama administration's strong push to negotiate Middle East peace and the creation of a Palestinian state. Beyond the Middle East, Obama's aggressive non-proliferation initiatives and "reset" with Moscow could also end up increasing pressure on Iran, they said.
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