World leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have congratulated Iran’s new President-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Pezeshkian, 69, was the only reformist candidate who was contesting for the top elected seat in Iran.
A seasoned lawmaker and cardiac surgeon, Pezeshkian has pledged to open Iran to the world.
On Saturday, Pezeshkian urged people to stick with him on “the difficult road ahead”.
After the results of the U.K. general elections, all eyes were set on the outcome of the Presidential run off in Iran.
Out of 30.5 million votes counted in Friday’s runoff, Pezeshkian received over 16.3 million votes while his ultra conservative rival Saeed Jalili got more than 13.5 million votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a congratulatory message on X for Dr Pezeshkian on his election as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
PM Modi said, “ Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship for the benefit of our people and the region.’’
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Masoud Pezeshkian on his election as the new President of Iran, the Kremlin said.
“I hope that your activities as president will contribute to further building up constructive bilateral cooperation in all areas for the benefit of our friendly peoples, in the interests of simplifying regional security and stability,” the statement said.
Before the election, Putin met the interim Iranian President Mohammad Mokhber on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
In his message to Iran’s new President-elect, President Xi Jinping said: “I am willing to work with the President to lead the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership towards deeper advancement.”
President Ilham Aliyev hailed Pezeshkian’s electoral success and said Azerbaijan placed “great importance” on ties with Iran.
“I am confident that through our joint efforts, we will ensure further strengthening of the traditional friendly relations and the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in line with the interests of our peoples and countries,” the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said.
Iran had a snap election following the demise of its President.
President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of the Iranian-Azerbaijan border on May 19 after a meeting with Aliyev to inaugurate a joint dam project
The President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid congratulated both Iran and the president-elect, “wishing him success in his official duties and in fulfilling the ambitions and aspirations of the Iranian people”.
In his congratulatory message, Emir Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah wished Pezeshkian a long and healthy life and “more prosperity and development for the Islamic Republic”.
In his congratulatory message, Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah wished Pezeshkian a long and healthy life and “more prosperity and development for the Islamic Republic”.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif said he looked forward to working closely with Pezeshkian, and promoting peace and stability in the region.
The Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Yvan Gil congratulated Iran for its “commitment demonstrated to democracy” during the two rounds of the presidential vote.
“Venezuela expresses its conviction that the decision made by the Iranian people will contribute to the prosperity of this nation, as well as its consolidation as an emerging power in the nascent multipolar world,’’ the statement read.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad congratulated Iran’s president-elect Pezeshkian for winning the runoff vote.
In this message, the president of Syria congratulated the nation and the government of Iran on the election of Masoud Pezeshkian as the new President of Iran and wished him success and prosperity.
“We will work together to strengthen strategic relations between the two countries and open new promising horizons for cooperation between the two countries,” Assad said.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman congratulated the Iranian president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian over his victory.
“We wish good health and happiness for Mr. Pezeshkian, and we wish more and more progress for the brotherly nation of Iran,” the Saudi king wrote.
“We are eager to continue the development of relations between the two countries and our brother nation and to continue coordination in order to promote regional and international security and peace,” he added.
The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman, said, “We emphasize our desire to develop and deepen relations between the two countries,” Bin Salman said.
Pezeshkian hails from an ethnically mixed family – his father is Azeri and his mother is Kurdish.
The Iranians noticed Pezeshkian when he took a stand against the crackdown on the 2009 pro-democracy protests, He also spoke frankly following the violence perpetrated by the notorious morality police in 2022 following Mahsa Amini’s death.
During the 2022 protests, Pezeshkian said in an interview to Iran’s IRINN TV, “It is our fault. We want to implement religious faith through the use of force. This is scientifically impossible.”
He said, “I bear part of the blame, the distinguished religious scholars and the mosques bear part of the blame, and the (Iranian) broadcasting authority bears part of the blame.”
He added, “Everybody should step forward and be held accountable, rather than capture that girl, beat her up, and eventually deliver her body (to her family).”
(With Inputs From Reuters)
