Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei on Thursday formally endorsed Hassan Rouhani as the president for a second term, Reuters reported. Rouhani had won the presidential elections by a huge margin in May this year.

Rouhani vowed to end poverty and create more jobs for the citizens. “The government’s aim is to improve Iran’s image in the world ... to safeguard people’s rights...to protect the religious democracy and our people’s votes,” he said.

He will be sworn-in as the president on Saturday, according to Reuters. He will have two weeks’ time to build his Cabinet, which will be presented to the parliament for a vote of confidence.

Rouhani’s second term begins at a time when the United States has issued fresh sanctions against Iran for its ballistic missiles programme. US President Donald Trump may pull out of the 2015 nuclear pact next, reported Bloomberg.

“We will never accept isolation,” Rouhani vowed, as he addressed political and military officials in Tehran at the ceremony, reported AFP. “The nuclear deal is a sign of Iran’s goodwill on the international stage.”