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In most democracies, a resounding win at the ballot box would put a president in a strong position to deliver promised changes. But Iran is only partly a democracy.

President Hassan Rouhani, who was officially sworn in for a second term Saturday, must contend with mounting opposition from religious hard-liners who keep losing elections but control key centers of power in the Islamic Republic.

The question is whether Rouhani can use his mandate to push through political reforms and social freedoms sought by his many young supporters or whether he will need to appease conservative clerics and security commanders who are the custodians of Irans theocracy.

History suggests that Rouhani has cause to be wary. His three immediate predecessors were reduced to the status of lame ducks in their second terms after clashing with the hard-line establishment, led by Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

There are clearly almost Soprano family-style moves to make him recognize how vulnerable he is, said Abbas Milani, a Tehran-born academic who directs the Iranian studies program at Stanford University, referring to the mob-themed U.S. television series.

Last month, Rouhanis brother, Hossein Fereydoun, was detained on charges of financial impropriety in what some experts describe as a shot across the bow by the conservative judiciary. Fereydoun was reportedly taken to a hospital the next day after appearing unwell at a court appearance and released on bail.

At his inauguration before parliament Saturday, Rouhani underscored the need for national cooperation and constructive relations with the world, familiar themes from his first term. Gone was the fiery rhetoric about freedom and civil rights that galvanized more reform-minded voters to his side during the election campaign.

We want to be a moderate government, Rouhani said before lawmakers, government insiders and foreign dignitaries, both in domestic and foreign policy.

Some of those who helped Rouhani increase his mandate by 5 million votes are now worried that the president wont fulfill campaign pledges to include women and reformist politicians in his 18-member Cabinet.

Tradition dictates that the president should consult the supreme leader about key appointments, such as the ministers of foreign affairs and intelligence. But Rouhani is said to also be running names for less sensitive posts by Khamenei.

One woman minister isnt a big deal. Why doesnt he try it? complained Siavash Ramesh, a 30-year-old political activist who until last week was an enthusiastic supporter of the president. We wanted more when we voted for him. Were unhappy, but what option did we have?"

The presidents defenders say Rouhani has been consulting with the supreme leader about his Cabinet picks more than is customary so hard-liners wont mount a challenge when he presents the list to parliament for a confidence vote.

He already faces accusations of selling off the country to colonizing interests after the announcement of a multibillion-dollar deal with French oil giant Total and the China National Petroleum Corp. to develop part of a massive natural gas field.

And new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration are providing grist for the mill of opposition to the nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers, Rouhanis signature achievement.

Although many of the most crippling economic penalties imposed on Iran have been lifted since the Islamic Republic agreed to curb its nuclear activities in 2015, the country has not experienced as robust a recovery as officials had hoped.

Foreign banks and businesses are worried about the Trump administrations more aggressive approach to Iran and dont want to run afoul of sanctions imposed by the U.S. for other alleged transgressions. These include Irans ballistic missile program, support for U.S.-designated terrorist groups and human rights abuses.

Iranian officials accuse Trump of acting in bad faith and have threatened to take proportional retaliatory measures.

"Iran will not be the first to pull out of the nuclear deal, but it will not remain silent about Americas repeated violations," Rouhani said.

The supreme leader, who gave his official endorsement Thursday for Rouhanis second term, said he supports extensive interaction with the world. But he advised Rouhani to be mindful of the plots of Irans enemies and reiterated the need for a resistance economy, or one that is not vulnerable to sanctions.

The cost of surrendering to aggressive powers is far greater than the cost of standing up to them, Khamenei was quoted as saying Thursday by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

The supreme leader has been increasingly critical of Rouhani for policies that Khamenei says fail to protect the dignity of the Islamic system against Westernizing influences.

Such remarks have emboldened hard-liners who surrounded Rouhani at a rally in June and shouted slogans likening the president to one of his predecessors who was forced into exile after falling out of favor with the Islamic Republics revolutionary founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Embarrassing video of Rouhani being whisked away by his bodyguards was broadcast widely in Iran, including by state-run news outlets. Some saw this as payback for a bruising election campaign, in which Rouhani lashed out at conservative rivals for repressing dissent, accused the judiciary of breaking the law and demanded that the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard stay out of politics.

In office, however, the president has a reputation as a moderate pragmatist and consensus builder.

Rouhani hasnt gone rogue, said Reza Marashi, research director for the National Iranian American Council, which advocates for better U.S.-Iran relations. He hasnt approved a single thing without getting Khameneis approval.

Analysts expect Rouhani to focus on reviving Irans economy in his second term. Its an issue where he has a greater chance of avoiding real gridlock within the system itself, said Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution. Its not nearly as dangerous as taking on issues of political prisoners or trying to open up the political space to those who feel marginalized.

Some experts believe Rouhani is trying to avoid a showdown with Khamenei in part because he is angling to succeed the 78-year-old supreme leader. If so, Milani said, the president could squander his political capital from the election and hurt his future prospects.

If he decides that the way for him to survive and win in the long run is to be more confrontational and rely on the power of the mandate, it will be a rough ride, but Im not sure he will lose, Milani added.

The presidents supporters have been pressing for the release of three opposition Green Movement leaders who have been under house arrest since 2011. But they arent optimistic.

There is a gap between what people voted for and what President Rouhani really can do, said Hossein Qayoumi, a reform-minded cleric and high-ranking member of Irans Democracy Party.

He thinks Rouhani might get some of the countrys rigid social and cultural restrictions eased. Satellite dishes that allow Iranians to watch foreign TV broadcasts have already become a common sight in Irans cities and towns, and the dress code for women has been somewhat relaxed.

But Qayoumi expects hard-liners to keep up the pressure on Rouhani.

For the countrys conservative clerics and Islamic Revolutionary Guard commanders, he said, its a fight for political survival: They know that if the winds of change blow, nothing can keep them in power.

Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran and Times staff writers Zavis and Etehad from Los Angeles.

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com

Twitter: @alexzavis

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Twitter: @melissaetehad

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Iran's president Hassan Rouhani begins his second term in the ...

Lets assume President Trump decides the Iran Deal is not a good thing for the United States, which is becoming clearer every day, and he wants to exit. What can he actually do? The answer is: Pretty much anything he wants. Because President Obama flagrantly refused to treat this treaty as a treaty, it has very little legal standing. If he is willing to take the political and diplomatic heat, President Trump could take it out onto the West Lawn at the White House, douse it with lighter fluid and burn it.

If he chooses a more conventional method, he has several options and requirements both domestically and at the UN, where President Obama expanded the Joint Coordinated Plan of Action (JCPOA) into a UN Security Council resolution.

One option is to declare that an agreement this important deserved to be done in accordance with the Constitution. He can submit it to the Senate for their advice and consent and then see if 67 Senators want to sign on. They wont, because they know this deal is a debacle. They punted via filibuster and didnt even vote when it came up under the Corker-Cardin act which was designed to give a fig leaf of Congressional oversight.

Secretary of State John Kerry talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna on Jan. 16, after the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran met all conditions under the nuclear deal. (Kevin Lamarque/AP)

This option has two major pluses: it remedies a bad piece of executive overreach by President Obama in pretending an obvious treaty was not one to avoid a Senate vote; and it also involves Congress in the decision to withdraw from the deal. Since this will be a provocative and in some ways dangerous move, it would be important to have as much U.S. cohesion as possible to show a strong front to the world.

It will be dangerous to withdraw from the deal. But failing to withdraw will leave the Iranians on a glide path to full nuclear capability and that is a much more dangerous prospect.

This or any other repudiation of the deal by President Trump would still leave the UN Security Council Resolution UNSCR 2231 intact. But there is a mechanism in the resolution that allows the U.S. to state Iran has not complied with the deal and then use our veto to stop any pushback against that claim. If we hold fast, then the sanctions on Iran that have only been suspended snap back into place.

A second option is to pressure Iran in ways that ultimately lead them to withdraw. Iran has been acting in bad faith all along. They got their reward in cash from the Obama administration and removal of sanctions, but never really meant to stop their goal of becoming a nuclear power. If the deal becomes inconvenient, theyll walk away themselves.

The Iranians seem to be starting down that road on their own. They just brought a list of their complaints about U.S. non-compliance to the JCPOA commission tasked with hearing disputes. It is a stunning act of chutzpah for Iran to be the onecomplaining, but it may offer a way for the president to let them talk themselves out of the deal. That would free us to put actual pressure on them.

The main impediment to President Trump acting on his promises and good instinct to get us out of this awful deal is the collective inertia of his cabinet to leave it in place. The State Department is heavily invested in it, and several other senior leaders have urged him not to withdraw. But the president rightly believes this deal is bad and dangerous, and told them he did not want to certify Iran as compliant again and assigned other advisers to work the issue.

It will be dangerousto withdraw from the deal, as Iran will almost certainly react in troubling ways. But failing to withdraw will leave the Iranians on a glide path to full nuclear capability and that is a much more dangerous prospect.

Jim Hanson is President of Security Studies Group and served in US Army Special Forces.

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Dump the Iran deal | Fox News

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that his administration and country will show a "unified" response to a breach of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers.

"The world should know that any breach of the deal will face a unified reaction of the Iranian nation and government."

The Saturday remarks by the Iranian president came during the swearing in ceremony for his second term as president.

Iran's state TV reported that more than 130 high-ranking officials from various countries and international organizations attended the ceremony in Tehran. Among them was EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who coordinates follow-up of Iran's nuclear deal.

OPINION: PRESIDENT TRUMP, IT'S TIME TO DUMP THE IRAN DEAL

It was the first time in Iran's history that a large number of foreign officials attended the president's inauguration ceremony.

"Those who intend to tear down the deal, should know that they are tearing down their political life," said Rouhani, without elaborating.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly described the nuclear deal as "bad" and during his campaign vowed to dismantle it.

Trump signed a bill Wednesday that imposes mandatory penalties on those involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them.

It would also apply terrorism sanctions to Iran's prestigious Revolutionary Guard and enforce an arms embargo. Iran has vowed to respond if the bill becomes law.

NEW SANCTIONS ARE 'BREACH' OF NUCLEAR DEAL, IRAN SAYS

However, Rouhani said his administration will maintain its "moderate" behavior in response to any verbal challenge.

"We prefer peace to war and reform to rigidness," said Rouhani. Rouhani, 68, a moderate cleric who secured re-election on May 19, promised that his country will pursue a "path of coexistence and interaction with the world."

He vowed that in his second term in office, Iran will "insist on constructive engagement with the world more than before." Rouhani was first elected in 2013 with nearly 51 percent of the vote.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed him for his second term as president on Thursday. Rouhani has to announce his new cabinet members to Parliament within 14 days. It is expected that he will do this on Tuesday.

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Iran vows 'unified' response to breach of nuclear deal | Fox News

Photo An American Super Hornet fighter jet during an aviation exhibition in Bangalore, India, in 2011. Credit Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press

WASHINGTON An unarmed Iranian drone buzzed an American Super Hornet fighter jet as it circled an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, Defense Department officials said on Tuesday.

A statement released by the militarys Central Command said that despite repeated radio calls demanding that Iran keep the drone clear of American flight operations in the vicinity of the aircraft carrier Nimitz, the Iranian vehicle came within 100 feet of the fighter jet, which had to swerve to avoid a collision.

At the time of the incident, the jet had been in a holding pattern and was planning to land on the carrier, the statement said.

The dangerous maneuver created a collision hazard and is not in keeping with international maritime customs and laws, the statement said. The American military said this was the 13th unsafe or unprofessional interaction between American and Iranian maritime forces this year.

In June, the United States downed two Iranian-made drones that the Pentagon said were approaching American-backed troops on the ground in Syria. There have been a series of clashes in a potential proxy war in Syria that has pitted Iranian-backed militias that support President Bashar al-Assad against Syrian fighters who have been trained by American, British and other coalition military advisers.

In the Persian Gulf, there have been an increased number of close calls and incidents as the United States has stepped up assistance to Saudi Arabia and other allies fighting Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

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Iranian Drone Buzzes US Fighter Jet Over Persian Gulf - New York Times

Hassan Rouhani presented his list of Cabinet nominees for all but one of the 18 minister roles on Tuesday.

The exclusion of women from the proposed list was widely expected, though appointing a female minister was a central promise made by Rouhani during the election campaign.

During his first term, the moderate president appointed several female vice-presidents, which are lower ranking roles than ministers, but are still members of cabinet. Rouhani's predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed the Islamic republic's only female minister, Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi, as health minister in 2009.

Al-Monitor's Iran Pulse Editor Mohammad Ali Shabani said there had been hope that "Rouhani would not reconstitute the taboo broken by Ahmadenijad."

"We're talking about a grander clash about the vision of women's role in society," he said.

But Shabani added that Rouhani is first and foremost a pragmatist who is keen on building bridges with hardliners.

"I think (Rouhani) is trying to convey a message to his opponents that in terms of values we are the same," he said.

Rouhani's new proposed Cabinet has yet to be approved by Parliament, but the list includes two prominent ministers from his first term: Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif and oil minister Bijan Zanganeh. The key appointments suggest Rouhani will continue with foreign and economic policies that center on opening up the country and seeking investment.

The President won a landslide re-election on May 19, after campaigning largely on social reform. His campaign also touted the merits of the nuclear deal with the United States, the European Union and other partners.

Rouhani was sworn in for a new term on Saturday. In an address in front of more than 100 foreign dignitaries, he accused the US of undermining the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the major world powers.

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Iran: No female ministers in Rouhani's proposed cabinet list - CNN