Iranian President Hassan Rouhani praised Europe for sending foreign ministers and other senior officials to the August 5 swearing-in ceremony for his second term of office, but hit out at Donald Trump saying: “We do not wish to engage with political novices.”

“Those who want to tear up the nuclear deal should know that they will be ripping up their own political life by doing so and the world won’t forget their noncompliance,” Rouhani added, in a reference to how Trump seems intent on finding a way of withdrawing Washington from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which curbed sanctions against Iran.

More than 100 foreign dignitaries attended the swearing in at the Majlis (Parliament) in Tehran of 68-year-old moderate cleric Rouhani, including French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Roth, British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

Prior to the ceremony, Rouhani met with European foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. Of the visiting foreign representatives, it was she who was given pride of place at the event. But Mogherini's visit caused one embarrassing episode in which a group of Iranian parliamentarians came under fire from some social media users after an image circulated showing them jostling to take a selfie with her. One of the MPs apologised.

Trump is isolated in his desire to not continue with the JCPOA, struck in return for a drastic scaling down of Iran's nuclear programme. The EU, Russia and China are keen to push ahead with it and develop trade and investment opportunities with the Iranians and even Trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that he is persuaded that continuing with the deal is currently the right thing to do.

In a televised address given as part of his swearing-in, Rouhani pledged that Iran would pursue a "path of coexistence and interaction with the world".

He added: "Promoting constructive interaction with the world, deepening bonds with neighbouring and regional countries, and developing cooperation with friendly states are not only an informed choice but also a necessity to improve international peace and security."

Rouhani first won the presidency in 2013 with almost 51% of the vote. He bettered that the second time around in May with 57%, brushing aside the hardline challenge of Ebrahim Raisi .

In looking at his achievements so far and aspirations for his second term, Rouhani made reference to the introduction of “the National Health Service” which is now in its second year of operation. Backed by a “national insurance” scheme, it allows all who pay in and retirees to access full medical services at low cost.

Without giving much detail, Rouhani also said he was aiming for an “economic revolution” built on the steady growth of the past four years.

Iranian regulators seem likely to force banks to lower interest rates in the near future in tandem with the Rouhani administration's plan to switch the banking system from savings-based to loan-friendly.