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Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has gained Iran’s presidential election, the nation’s electoral authority stated Saturday, defeating his hardline rival in a pivotal vote amid heightened tensions each domestically and internationally.
Out of 30.5 million votes counted in Friday’s runoff, Pezeshkian gained 53.6%, edging out ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, who had 44.3% of the votes, in accordance with state-run Press TV. Voter turnout was 49.8%, Press TV reported.
Pezeshkian was elected in a second spherical of voting after securing the best variety of ballots within the first spherical, forward of Jalili. The first spherical noticed the bottom voter turnout for a presidential election for the reason that Islamic Republic was established in 1979.
“We will extend the hand of friendship to everyone; we are all people of this country and should utilize everyone’s efforts for the nation’s progress,” he stated in his first remarks after the election win, in accordance with Press TV. He thanked those that voted in Friday’s ballot “with love and to help” the nation.
The Guardian Council, a strong 12-member physique tasked with overseeing elections and laws, should certify the vote earlier than Pezeshkian can take workplace.
Pezeshkian will take the helm in a rustic that’s going through rising worldwide isolation, inside discontent, a spiraling financial system and the prospect of direct battle with its archenemy Israel.
The snap election that introduced him to energy was held after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May in Iran’s distant northwest, together with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and different officers. The lawmaker was the one reformist candidate vying for the highest elected seat within the nation after dozens of different candidates have been barred from working.
Following victory, Pezeshkian appealed for unity and help from fellow Iranians in a statement posted to X.
“Dear people of Iran, the elections are over and this is just the beginning of our support/work. The difficult path ahead of us will not be paved except with your support, empathy and trust. I extend my hand to you and swear by my dignity that I will not leave you alone on this path. Don’t leave me alone,” he wrote.
He has favored dialogue with Iran’s foes, notably over its nuclear program, and sees that as a method to deal with the nation’s home points.
“The primary issue is the perspective: Do we want to solve our problems with the world or not? I believe we must get out of the deadlock to solve the country’s problems,” he stated at a presidential debate forward of the second spherical of voting.
While the president does take pleasure in some powers in Iran, the final word authority lies with the Supreme Leader, who has the ultimate say on all issues of state.
Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images/File
In this 2002 file picture, then-Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian, left, and then-Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, proper, hearken to Abbas-Ali Karimi, heart, head of Tehran’s Cardiology Center, as they go to an working room throughout the heart’s inauguration.
A well being minister beneath reformist president Mohammad Khatami, Pezeshkian is a educated coronary heart surgeon and lawmaker. He gained prominence for his stance in opposition to the crackdown on the 2009 pro-democracy protests and violence perpetrated by the infamous morality police in 2022 within the wake of Mahsa Amini’s demise. Amini died within the custody of the morality police after being detained for not adhering to the Islamic Republic’s strict gown code for girls. Hundreds were killed and 1000’s arrested because the authorities sought to crush the protests, in accordance with the United Nations.
During the 2022 protests, Pezeshkian stated in an interview with Iran’s IRINN TV: “It is our fault. We want to implement religious faith through the use of force. This is scientifically impossible.”
“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 stated. “Everybody should step forward and be held accountable, rather than capture that girl, beat her up, and eventually deliver her body (to her family).”
He has offered himself as a candidate for all Iranians. “Among my supporters are both left and right, even those who do not pray,” he stated at a latest presidential debate.
After dropping his spouse and one among his youngsters in a 1994 automobile crash, he devoted a lot of his time to politics. Pezeshkian ran for president within the 2013 and 2021 elections, however didn’t make headway.
The 69-year-old hails from an ethnically combined household – his father is Azeri and his mom is Kurdish. Persian isn’t his mom tongue. That has burnished his picture for Iran’s minorities however left him open to xenophobic assaults from some opponents.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters
Supporters maintain posters of Iranian presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian throughout a marketing campaign occasion in Tehran, Iran, on July 3.
Experts say a extra reasonable face within the presidency may facilitate dialogue between Iran and Western states. Domestically, Pezeshkian can also introduce some social modifications, which he emphasised throughout his electoral marketing campaign, although specialists warning that such strikes are removed from assured.
Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme on the Chatham House suppose tank in London, stated it’s unlikely that Pezeshkian’s election would instantly translate into coverage modifications. “But Pezeshkian has made it clear that he will try to work through and within the system in order to perhaps accommodate a less repressive environment.”
The reformist didn’t assure that he may make these modifications, Vakil stated, including that this reveals the bounds of presidential powers in Iran. “But (it may add) a bit more room for maneuver on social freedoms,” she stated.
Other components could also be harder to vary, notably Iran’s international coverage.
Pezeshkian assumes the presidency at a time when his nation is embroiled in escalating tensions with Israel and its Western allies, triggered by the conflict in Gaza and the development of Iran’s nuclear program.
Just three months in the past, Iran and Israel exchanged hearth for the primary time because the Gaza battle widened. Israel is now making ready for a possible second entrance in opposition to Hezbollah, Iran’s main regional proxy, in Lebanon.
Rhetoric between Iran and Israel escalated final week as Iran’s mission to the United Nations stated that ought to Israel “embark on full-scale military aggression” in opposition to Lebanon, then “an obliterating war will ensue.”
“All options, including the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table,” it stated on X.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded that “a regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed.”
Pezeshkian just isn’t anticipated to vary the present trajectory on Israel, specialists stated.
He has additionally praised General Qasem Soleimani, the controversial head of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, who was assassinated in a US strike in 2020.
“I consider him a source of national pride and a thorn in the eyes of our enemies,” he stated in a latest presidential debate.
Sepehr/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
Masoud Pezeshkian visits the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture in Tehran, Iran on June 23.
But whereas Western states aren’t anticipating this election to vary their relationship with Iran, Pezeshkian is actually their most well-liked candidate, as his opponent would have solely escalated these present tensions, specialists stated.
Former Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, a key ally of Pezeshkian and a reformist who oversaw a relatively heat interval of worldwide relations practically a decade in the past, has been mooted as a possible candidate to reoccupy his previous put up beneath the brand new president.
Zarif was Iran’s prime diplomat when the regime struck a take care of the US and world powers to restrict Tehran’s nuclear actions in trade for sanctions reduction (a deal that has since all however collapsed). While he’s in style amongst Iranian youth, he has additionally confronted criticism from hardliners at residence for being too pleasant to the West.
Ahead of the elections, nonetheless, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei condemned these looking for improved relations with the West. And Pezeshkian has publicly said that he would defer to Khamenei on issues of international coverage, so Zarif’s appointment is way from assured.