DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian Iran’s president won a runoff election Saturday, beating hard-liner Saeed Jalili, vowing to reach out to the West and ease enforcement of the country’s compulsory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests that have strained the Islamic republic.
Pezeshkian did not promise any radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy during his campaign and has long viewed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all state affairs in the country. But even Pezeshkian’s modest goals will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely run by hardliners, the government spokesman said. Ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Stripand Western fears that Tehran is enriching uranium to levels close to those needed for weapons.
According to a vote count proposed by the authorities, Pezeshkian emerged victorious with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s poll. A total of 30 million people voted in a poll held without internationally recognized observers, according to Iran’s Interior Ministry.
Supporters of Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and longtime lawmaker, took to the streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn to celebrate his lead of more than 100,000. Jalili, former radical nuclear negotiator.
“Dear Iranian people, the elections are over and this is just the beginning of our cooperation,” Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X, which is still banned in Iran. “The difficult path ahead will not be easy without your company, empathy and trust. I extend my hand to you and swear on my honor that I will not leave you alone on this path. Do not leave me alone.”
More than 50 countries will go to the polls in 2024
Pezeshkian’s victory puts Iran in a delicate situation, with tensions high in the Middle East due to the war between Israel and Hamas. Iran’s nuclear program advancesand a looming election in the United States that could jeopardize any chance of detente between Tehran and Washington. Pezeshkian’s victory was not a rout for Jalili either, meaning he will have to navigate Iran’s domestic politics carefully, as the doctor has never held a sensitive senior security post.
The first round of voting on June 28 saw the Lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian officials have long portrayed participation as a sign of support for the country’s Shiite theocracy, strained by years of sanctions crushing Iran’s economy, mass protests and intense repression of dissent.
Government officials up to Khamenei, The supreme leader predicted a higher turnout during the vote, with state television broadcasting images of modest queues at some polling stations. However, online videos showed some polling stations were empty, while a survey of several dozen polling stations in Tehran found little traffic and a heavy security presence on the streets.
Authorities put Friday’s vote turnout at 49.6 percent, a record low for an Iranian presidential election. They counted 607,575 spoiled ballots, often a sign of protest by those who feel compelled to vote but reject both candidates.
“I don’t expect anything from him. I’m glad the vote put a stop to the hardliners,” said Fatemeh Babaei, a bank employee who voted for Pezeshkian. “I hope Pezeshkian can restore an administration that will allow everyone to feel that there is a tomorrow.”
Taher Khalili, an Iranian of Kurdish origin who runs a small tailor shop in Tehran, gave another reason for optimism by handing out sweets to passersby.
“Ultimately, it was someone from my hometown and western Iran who came to power,” Khalili said. “I hope he will improve the economy for small businesses.”
Pezeshkian, who speaks Azeri, Farsi and Kurdish, has campaigned on outreach to Iran’s many ethnic groups. He is the first president from western Iran in decades, which they hope will help the country because westerners are seen as more tolerant because of their region’s ethnic and religious diversity.
The elections took place amid heightened regional tensions. In April, Iran launches first direct attack on Israel on the war in Gaza, while militias armed by Tehran — such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — are engaged in the fighting and have stepped up their attacks.
Iran is also enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels The country has a large enough stockpile of munitions to build multiple nuclear weapons if it so desires. And while Khamenei remains the final decision-maker on matters of state, no matter who wins the presidency, he could tilt the country’s foreign policy toward confrontation or collaboration with the West.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who has reached a détente with Iran, congratulated Pezeshkian, stressing his “desire to develop and deepen the relations that unite our two countries and our two peoples.” Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has relied on Iranian-made drones in his war against Ukraine, also congratulated Pezeshkian.
There was no immediate response from the United States.
The campaign has also repeatedly discussed what would happen if former President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, wins the November election. Iran has been in indirect negotiations with President Joe Biden’s administration, though there has been no clear move toward limiting Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
Although he identified with reformists and moderates within the Iranian theocracy during the campaign, Pezeshkian has at the same time paid tribute to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, even wearing their uniform in parliament on one occasion. He has repeatedly criticized the United States and praised the Guards for shooting down a U.S. drone in 2019, saying that they “dealt a powerful blow to the Americans and proved to them that our country will not capitulate.”
More than 61 million Iranians aged 18 and over were eligible to vote, including about 18 million between the ages of 18 and 30. Voting was scheduled to end at 6 p.m. but was extended until midnight to increase turnout.
The late president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in Maywas seen as a protégé of Khamenei and a potential successor to the post of supreme leader.
Yet many knew him for his involvement in the mass executions in Iran in 1988, and for his role in the bloody crackdown on dissent that followed protests against the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by the police for allegedly inappropriately wearing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab.
___
Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed to this report.
