New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated H.E Masoud Pezeshkian on being elected as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Prime Minister posted on X;
"Congratulations @drpezeshkian on your election as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship for the benefit of our peoples and the region.”
Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian secured a win in the presidential elections in Iran, CNN reported, citing Press TV. Dr Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon turned reformist politician, had defeated Jalili, having garnered 16.3 million votes as against 13.5 million for his rival.
According to election headquarters under the auspices of the interior ministry, the voter turnout was 49.8 per cent in Iran’s presidential elections, the report said.
He will become the president of a country that is facing rising international isolation, internal discontent, a spiraling economy, and the prospect of direct conflict with Israel.
Snap elections were held in Iran after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a chopper crash along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials in Iran’s remote northwest in May.
In the Iranian power structure and hierarchy the Iranian President is more of a deputy to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the final arbiter and decision-maker.
Dr Pezeshkian is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. He served in the Iranian Parliament and as the Health Minister. He is open to nuclear negotiations with the West and has pitched it as an economic imperative since US-led sanctions have affected the country’s economy. He also has a base among young and women voters and has a history of openly criticising the government and the violent crackdown on protesters over the 2022 death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.
India and Iran signed a friendship treaty on March 15, 1950. India has invested heavily in Iran's Chabahar port development. The Indian approach has been to wait and watch, especially since a possibility of Trump to be back in the White House is there in the next six months. Delhi will be extremely measured in how it moves forward in its ties with Iran, which has been low-key in recent years.
