President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term on Wednesday amidst a tense climate in the capital. Hundreds of protesters had already begun to gather before parliament prior to his speech, a spirited address in which he attacked interference and pressure from the West, saying that Iran will resist "oppressive powers."

"We will resist oppressors and try to correct the global discriminatory mechanisms in order to benefit all the nations of the world," he said, lambasting nations such as France, the UK, and Germany, who refused to congratulate his victory.

“They only want democracy when it severs them and they do not respect other people’s rights. You should know that nobody in Iran awaits your congratulations," he said.

"The June 12 epic is the start of major change in Iran and in the world," the hardliner said, referring to his hotly disputed election win which provoked a wave of massive opposition protests and deadly unrest.

A fresh round of arrests

Iranian police arrested some supporters of former opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi near parliament shortly after the swearing in, and the crowd was dispersed.

This was only the most recent in a chain of events following the June 12 election, wherein 30 people were killed, hundreds wounded and around 2,000 initially arrested, while 110 have been put on trial. The authorities accused protesters of seeking to overthrow the regime with a "velvet revolution.”

Click to see a bigger image.

Mousavi, along with other opposition leaders, boycotted Monday’s ceremony in which Iran's supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, endorsed Ahmadinejad as president. They were also absent at Wednesday’s swearing in ceremony.

Opposition leaders continue to clamour for a new election, declaring the official one to be fraudulent. Notably, this is an open act of defiance against the nation’s supreme leader.

Ahmadinejad's contested legitimacy

Ahmadinejad’s first task at hand is to assemble his cabinet – one that will pass muster with the deputies and win their vote of confidence. Under pressure from the conservative wing of his party, he has already had to jettison his choice for vice president, trusted advisor Esfandiar Rahim-Mashiae.

"According to Iranian law, MPs vote for each candidate and not for the cabinet as a whole," says Siavosh Ghazi, an AFP correspondent based in Tehran. "Four years ago already, they had rejected several candidates. They may do the same this time as well."

Ahmadinejad’s re-election has forced tensions to come to a head between Iran and the West regarding the Iranian nuclear programme, which Ahmadinejad has vowed to push forward despite warnings from the US and its allies.

Several weeks into the protests, US President Barack Obama, who has sought to improve relations with Iran, said he was "outraged" by the crackdown. Subsquently, Ahmadinejad warned Obama to stop meddling in Iran’s affairs.

The White House has since muted its stance. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Tuesday acknowledged Ahmadinejad as the "elected" president of Iran, but stopped short of declaring him the "legitimate" president.

Experts have said that Obama’s hands are tied on the matter, as the Iran nuclear issue makes taking a stronger stance a very delicate matter.