Al-Monitor | Ali Hashem: When Hassan Rouhani first became president in 2013, he had a mentor:�two-time President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. At the time, Rouhani's�rivals hinted that the�real president�would be Rafsanjani, despite the fact that Rouhani had�an unrivaled experience in diplomacy and security affairs, alongside his extensive�experience in the parliament and his standing as a senior cleric.

This time, Rouhani seems to be very�capable of absorbing differences under the umbrella of the Islamic Republic�s establishment, and�some of what he said during the election campaign�that stirred controversy he did not mention in his�Aug. 3 speech�at the supreme leader�s residence or�on Aug. 5 in�the parliament, were he was sworn in as president for his�second term.

In the grand plenary chamber of the Iranian parliament, dignitaries from all over�the world watched Rouhani take the oath. Representatives of Hamas, Hezbollah�and the Islamic Jihad sat with delegations from the European Union, the United Kingdom, France and other Western states. Gulf state�representation from Qatar, Kuwait�and Oman boosted the Iranian goal of the gathering, which clearly showed�that the Islamic Republic���despite all the attempts by rival states���is neither isolated nor on bad terms with most of the world. The Iranian show of diplomatic power saw around 10 heads of state�and a similar number of foreign ministers, with a special appearance from�EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who seemed to be�the special guest. On Aug. 5, Mogherini met with�Rouhani, Foreign Minister�Mohammad Javad Zarif, the supreme leader�s foreign policy adviser Ali Akbar Velayati�and Kamal Kharrazi, the�head of Iran�s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations; upon her arrival in�the parliament�the media�and even Iranian officials took pictures of her.

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