Worldwide felicitations pour in after Pezeshkian wins presidential race

The 69-year-old heart surgeon garnered more than 16 million votes while his rival, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, got over 13 million out of about 30 million votes cast, with the voter turnout standing at 49.8 percent.

Pezeshkian entered politics first as the country’s deputy health minister and later as the health minister.

In 2006, Pezeshkian was elected as a lawmaker representing Tabriz in northwest Iran. He later served as a deputy parliament speaker described by many as an “independent” politician, a label that was embraced by Pezeshkian in the campaign.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a note of congratulations to Pezeshkian on Saturday and welcomed his victory in Iran’s presidential election.

“I congratulate you on the confidence of the dear Iranian people, and I congratulate the leadership and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the success of the electoral process, wishing you prosperity in everything that preserves Iran’s security and stability,” Assad said.

“Your country, which is impregnable as it has always been, is one of the most important countries with which we are keen to ensure that the relationship is at its peak because this relationship is based on roots established through decades of mutual respect, common understanding, and firm principles, to which Syria and Iran have always adhered,” the Syrian president added.

Assad underlined the expansion of the strategic relationship between the two countries as a means of safeguarding their national interests.

“We will work with you to boost the Syrian-Iranian strategic relationship and open new promising horizons for bilateral cooperation, and resistance will remain the common approach that we follow in order to preserve the pride of our countries and defend the interests of their peoples,” he said.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his felicitations to Pezeshkian on his election and hoped that “fraternal” relations between Pakistan and Iran will “grow further stronger” during his presidency.

“My heartfelt congratulations to @drpezeshkian on his election as the President of Iran. Pakistan & Iran enjoy fraternal ties & I hope that under your leadership our relations will grow further stronger. Looking forward to work together for the peace and prosperity of the region,” Zardari said.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, congratulated Pezeshkian and expressed confidence in the further consolidation of Tehran-Islamabad ties during his tenure.

“Mr. Pezeshkian is an intelligent, capable and people-friendly politician whose election bespeaks the strong trust of the Iranian people,” Sadiq said, adding, “We are confident that the relations between the two countries will be further strengthened in the new period.”

The Venezuelan government congratulated the people of Iran for their commitment to democracy in Friday’s runoff election that resulted in Pezeshkian’s victory.

“The Bolivarian Republic congratulates the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the commitment demonstrated to the democracy of their country, expressed in the second round of the presidential elections held on July 5, 2024, which gave victory to His Excellency Masoud Pezeshkian as the new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil said in a statement on his X account.

“Venezuela expresses its conviction that the decision made by the Iranian people will contribute to the prosperity of this nation, as well as its consolidation as an emerging power of the nascent multipolar world.”

Gil expressed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s “absolute support” for Pezeshkian “to continue deepening the fraternal relations between both peoples and in the comprehensive strategic alliance for mutually beneficial cooperation.”