Masoud Pezeshkian became the President of Iran by defeating Saeed Jalili

Masoud Pezeshkian: Reformist lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian promised warmer ties with the West after defeating hardline candidate Saeed Jalili in the second round of Iran’s presidential election today. In the final vote count, Pezeshkian was declared the winner with 16.3 million votes, while Jalili got 13.5 million.
“By winning a majority of the votes cast on Friday, Pezeshkian has become Iran’s next president,” Iran’s interior ministry said on Saturday. Pezeshkian was the only moderate candidate in the original field of four and was pitted in the run-off election against Jalili, who is a staunch supporter of deepening ties with Russia and China.
Videos on social media showed supporters of heart surgeon Pezeshkian dancing in the streets in several cities and towns across the country and motorists honking car horns to celebrate his victory. In the northwestern city of Urmia, Pezeshkian’s hometown, people were handing out sweets in the streets, according to witnesses.
The less well-known Pezeshkian has not promised any major changes to Iran’s theocracy, but he has been an advocate of warmer relations with the West, economic reform, social liberalization and political pluralism. The elections and Pezeshkian’s victory are expected to have limited impact on Iran’s policies, as all important state affairs are handled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.