A heart surgeon turned politician who ran as a reformist candidate won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday after vowing to reach out to Western countries and relax enforcement of the country’s strict headscarf law.
Masoud Pezeshkian, who’s a longtime lawmaker, topped hard-liner Saeed Jalili after late President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May.
The 69-year-old, who also promised to help revive a struggling economy, earned 16.3 million votes while Jalili’s 13.5 got million during Friday’s election.
Pezeshkian ran as a moderate with an eye on reform, but he also said he would not pursue any radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy and has consistently said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all matters in the Middle Eastern country.
Pezeshkian’s core voters included those in the urban middle class and younger people who were sick of years of security crackdowns that stopped any public dissent.
“If I try but fail to fulfill my campaign promises, I would say goodbye to political work and not continue,” Pezeshkian said in a video message before voting.
“There is no point in wasting our life and not being able to serve our dear people.”
In 2022, he called for answers over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died in custody after she was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s headdress law that sparked months of unrest.
“We will respect the hijab law, but there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behavior toward women,” Pezeshkian said after he voted in the first round.
His victory comes as tensions in the Mideast remain high over the Israel-Hamas war, the country’s growing nuclear program and an election between President Biden and former President Donald Trump that could affect the two nations’ relationship.
Pezeshkian has been critical of the US. He praised the Revolutionary Guard in 2019 for shooting down an American drone in 2019.
Pezeshkian served as a combatant and physician during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s where he deployed medical teams to the front lines.
He also served as health minister between 2001 and 2005.
He was first elected in 2006 as a lawmaker to represent Tabriz before later serving as deputy parliament speaker.
He also suffered personal tragedy in 1994 when he lost his wife and one of his daughters in a car crash. He didn’t remarry and raised his two surviving sons and daughter alone.
With Post wires
