Challenges abound for Iran's nuclear deal with the West

IRANIAN President Hassan Rouhani will be inaugurated for a second term on Saturday with a turnout of dignitaries from 25 countries from the Asia-Pacific, 26 Arab nations and 30 from Europe and the Americas. With his signature accomplishment of his first term - the nuclear deal with the West - under growing threat, he faces a potentially tumultuous period ahead.

Mr Rouhani won a landslide victory in May which has hugely significant implications. The election was important not just because it will help determine which pathway the country takes in the coming years. The victor - and his allies in the Assembly of Experts - also now have a significant voice over who becomes the next Supreme Leader if Ayatollah Ali Khameini, 77, who took power in 1989, dies in office during the next presidential term.

At the centre of the contest in May were differing views over the 2015 landmark nuclear accord and Mr Rouhani's wider advocacy of cautious economic and political re-engagement with Western powers. Yet, as the president embarks on his second term, the nuclear deal is shrouded in controversy again.