When Ahmadinejad is confirmed as president at meeting in the offices of supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday he will be taking the reins in a country that is heading towards a major international standoff over its nuclear programme and possible UN sanctions.

The man who was a complete unknown until becoming Tehran mayor two years ago will also be taking office as dissident Akbar Ganji records the 54th day of a hunger strike that his relations say is taking him ever closer to death.

But for all the challenges confronting him -- and these also include managing an economy with high inflation and chronic unemployment levels -- Ahmadinejad has yet to give concrete indications of how Iran will look under his rule.

Branded by his enemies before his stunning June 24 election victory as a dangerous extremist, former revolutionary guard Ahmadinejad has gone out of his way to vow that there will be "no place for extremism" in his government.

Many diplomats and rights groups doubt he will show more conciliation with dissidents or the international community than did the previous administration of Mohammad Khatami, whose efforts at reform were stymied by hardliners.

The final days of Khatami's rule have been marked by the dramatic announcement Iran is set to resume ultra-sensitive nuclear activities that were previously suspended under an agreement with the European Union.

"I ask if Iran could possibly be more hardline on nuclear policy than it is at the moment," said one diplomat. "The resumption of these nuclear activities seems to show that there will be continuity in policy."

The circle of rights lawyers headed by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi has also come under renewed attention in recent days from the police with one, Abdolfattah Soltani, arrested for his role in a nuclear espionage case.

Young liberals already dismayed by the unfulfilled reform promises of Khatami's rule fear that Ahamdinejad could roll back the cautious but cherished social reforms made under the former president.

In international affairs, Ahmadinejad has pledged to extend "the hand of friendship" to the international community, and made clear that he is ready to work with any country that does not show animosity to Iran.

Any thoughts a rapprochement with arch enemy the United States could be on the horizon have already been buried by Ahmadinejad's assertion Iran is strong enough without Washington along with accusations he took part in the 1979 kidnapping siege at the US embassy in Tehran.

But what reaped Ahmadinejad 61.69 percent of the votes in his crushing run-off win against regime veteran Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was his success in convincing Iranians he is an honest Muslim who cares about their economic problems.

Iranians who are more concerned with their weekly pay packets than freedom of the press will be looking to the man who proudly presents himself as the "nation's street sweeper" to put money into their pockets.

He may be helped by a bumper oil revenues in the current financial year -- 24.4 billion dollars more than budgeted -- thanks to the current high oil prices.

Having initially alarmed economic observers by promising to thwart a "mafia" that was dominating the oil industry and promising a redistribution of wealth, Ahmadinejad has moved to calm nerves by saying that he is pro-investment.

"It is possible that to honour the promises that have been made the government will start by taking unfavourable decisions but within a few months it will have to get back to reality," said one analyst, who declined to be named.

Ahmadinejad's future policies remain a mystery but some clarity should emerge when he announces his government line-up. He has two weeks after being sworn in before parliament on Saturday to present the names to the house.

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