Reformist Massoud Paezeshkian wins presidential election in Iran

In Iran, reformist candidate Massoud Paezeshkian won the second round of the presidential election over ultra-conservative Saeed Jalili, the country's Interior Ministry reported, UNN citing France 24 .

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Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes and Jalili more than 13 million out of approximately 30 million votes cast, said Mohsen Eslami, a spokesman for the country's electoral body, adding that voter turnout was 49.8 percent.

It is reported that the number of spoiled ballots exceeded 600 thousand.

Pezeshkian thanked his supporters who came to vote "with love and to help" the country.

"We will extend a hand of friendship to everyone; we are all people of this country; we must use everyone for the progress of the country," he said on state television.

Pezeshkian's candidacy, which until recently was unknown, has raised the hopes of Iranian reformists after years of domination by conservative and ultra-conservative camps.

Iran's main reformist coalition backed Peseshkian with the support of former presidents Mohammad Khatami and moderate Hassan Rouhani.

Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, called for "constructive relations" with Western countries to renew the nuclear deal and "bring Iran out of isolation.

The 58-year-old Jalili is a former negotiator on Iran's nuclear program, widely known for his uncompromising anti-Western stance, the newspaper writes. During his campaign, he gathered a significant base of hardliners and received support from other conservative figures.

Ahead of Friday's round, Peseshkian and Jalili took part in two televised debates during which they discussed low voter turnout, as well as Iran's economic problems, international relations, and internet restrictions. Paezeshkian promised to ease longstanding restrictions on internet access and to "fully" oppose police patrols that require women to wear the hijab, a high-profile issue following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022. The 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman was detained on suspicion of violating the dress code, and her death sparked months of nationwide unrest.

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The elections, called early after the death of ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, followed a first round marked by historically low turnout last week. In last week's first round, Pezeshkian, who was the only reformist allowed to run, received the most votes.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the ultimate power, called for a higher turnout in the second round, emphasizing the importance of the elections. He said the turnout in the first round was lower than expected, but added that it was not an act "against the system.

The vote comes amid heightened regional tensions over the war in the Gaza Strip, a dispute with the West over Iran's nuclear program, and internal dissatisfaction with the state of the Iranian economy, which has suffered from sanctions, the newspaper points out.