Iran's Supreme Leader endorses Masoud Pezeshkian as new president

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, endorsed the presidential decree of President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian in a ceremony on July 28 morning.

The endorsement ceremony took place at 10:00 am local time at Imam Khomeini Hussainia, attended by Ayatollah Khamenei, Iranian high-ranking authorities, military officials, a group of the country's academics, families of martyrs, and foreign envoys to Tehran, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

During the event, the interior minister of President Raeisi's administration, Ahmad Vahidi, presented a report on the process of holding the snap elections. He expressed gratitude to the Iranian nation and relevant bodies for their assistance in successfully conducting the presidential elections.

Following Vahidi's remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei granted the presidential decree to Masoud Pezeshkian, officially announcing him as the 9th President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Leader wished Pezeshkian success in his mission.

Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held in parliament on July 30.

Pezeshkian received over 16 million votes, surpassing former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili who garnered more than 13 million votes out of over 30 million cast, according to electoral authorities. The runoff on Friday followed a June 28 ballot in a snap election to find a successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, who, along with his foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others, tragically died in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran.