>>> was the face of iran in all its hostility toward this country was officially replaced today by a new president who is at least talking about more dialogue with the west. tonight nbc's ann curry is inside iran and reports on the shift in power.

>> reporter: on iran state television , the transfer of power from milwaukee mahmadinejad appears full of goodwill. we never heard this from president ahmadinejad .

>> translator: the only way to engage with iran on common issues is to build trust on both sides. a mutual respect and by lowering tensions between each other.

>> reporter: perhaps as significant as the new president's message is today's orchestration of the international press. this inauguration has turned into a world press event and really only for one reason -- the world is worried iran could soon have the bomb. and iran give the media, a show. its modern parliament a setting for a television spectacular. for the first time, heads of state from all over the world were invited, with the notable exception of the united states and israel. while afghanistan's hamid karzai and top official from north korea were in attendance, heads of state from western europe were not. after his remarks, the president immediately named his entire cabinet, most fell on moderates. he was clearly signaling the direction he wants iran to go and how fast. ann curry , nbc news, tehran.