Iran announces presidential election winner

A heart surgeon-turned-politician, Masoud Pezeshkian, has been elected the new president to succeed the deceased Ebrahim Raisi

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian defeated his conservative opponent Saeed Jalili in the second round of the presidential election by nearly three million votes, according to the election headquarters. The election was called after President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May.

Pezeshkian has been officially elected as the new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, local media reported on Saturday morning, citing a spokesperson for Iran's election headquarters, which operates under the country’s interior ministry.

With all ballots counted, Pezeshkian secured approximately 16.4 million votes, while Jalili received 13.5 million votes, according to a final update at 6:45 AM local time (3:15 GMT).

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