Meet Masoud Pezeshkian, Elected as Iran's New President
- VIVA.co.id/Natania Longdong
Jakarta – Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has called for “cooperation, empathy and trust” after being declared the winner of Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday (July 6).
The win for reformists is a turn from the hard-line presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.
Pezeshkian bested hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.
Warga Iran mengawal prosesi pemakaman Presiden Iran Ebrahim Raisi di Teheran
- AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
“Dear people of Iran, the election is over, and this is just the beginning of our working together. A difficult road is ahead. It can only be smooth with your cooperation, empathy and trust,” he posted on X, as quoted from NBC News site.
Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy in his campaign and has long held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country.
But even Pezeshkian’s modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely controlled by hard-liners, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels.
A vote count offered by authorities put Pezeshkian as the winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s election.
Overall, Iran’s Interior Ministry said 30 million people voted in an election held without internationally recognized monitors.
Supporters of Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and longtime lawmaker, entered the streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn to celebrate as his lead grew over Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator.
Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, was among the first world leaders to congratulate Pezeshkian, calling for closer ties between the nations. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Xinping also called for stronger bilateral cooperation with Iran.
