He will become the ninth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, endorsed the election of reformer Massoud Pezeshkian this Sunday. “I approve the election (of) the wise, honest, popular and scholar Massoud Pezeshkian, and I appoint him president of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Ali Khamenei said in a message read by his office director.
Elected in the second round of the presidential election on July 5, Massoud Pezeshkian, 69, must take the oath of office this Tuesday before Parliament to begin a four-year term. He will succeed Ebrahim Raïssi, who died in a helicopter accident in May. Senior Iranian officials and foreign diplomats attended the inauguration ceremony on Sunday, broadcast by state television.
Massoud Pezeshkian won the second round of the presidential election against the ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, with 53.6% of votes against 44.3%, out of around 30 million votes cast. Saeed Jalili and moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, who supported his candidacy alongside Iran's main reform coalition, attended Sunday's ceremony.
