World leaders congratulate Iran’s Pezeshkian on presidential election win
Al Jazeera
Centrist Masoud Pezeshkian defeated challenger and hardliner Saeed Jalili in a run-off.
Masoud Pezeshkian, who has pledged to open Iran to the world, decisively won a run-off and will become the country’s ninth elected president.
The sole moderate candidate in the race received 53.7 percent of the votes, or 16.3m of the more than 30 million ballots cast. His rival Saeed Jalili got 44.3 percent, or 13.5m.
On Saturday, Pezeshkian acknowledged “the difficult path ahead”, but extended a hand to all Iranians. “I extend my hand towards you and swear on my honour that I will not leave you alone on this path. Don’t leave me alone.”
World leaders congratulated Pezeshkian on his victory.
President Vladimir Putin congratulated Pezeshkian and said he hoped it would contribute to Russia-Iran relations.
