- Home
- Pezeshkian:...
Pezeshkian: Iran's new reformist president
Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's only reformist candidate in the latest presidential election, has risen from relative obscurity to become the ninth president of the Islamic republic.
Pezeshkian, 69, won around 53.6 percent of the vote in a runoff election against the ultraconservative Saeed Jalili.
In the first round of Iran's snap elections on June 28, Pezeshkian led the polls against three other conservative figures, stunning supporters and rivals alike.
Pezeshkian's victory has raised the hopes of Iran's reformists after years of dominance by the conservative and ultraconservative camps.
He will replace late ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi who died in a May helicopter crash.
"The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy, and trust. I extend my hand to you," Pezeshkian said in a post on X, after on Tuesday saying he would "extend the hand of friendship to everyone" if he won.
In the lead-up to the elections, Iran's main reformist coalition threw its weight behind Pezeshkian, with former presidents Mohammad Khatami and the moderate Hassan Rouhani declaring support for his bid.
Pezeshkian takes over the presidency amid heightened regional tensions over the Gaza war, a dispute with the West over Iran's nuclear programme and domestic discontent over the state of Iran's sanctions-hit economy.
- 'Out of isolation' -
The outspoken heart surgeon had publicly criticised the Raisi government over its handling of the death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.
In a post on Twitter, now known as X, at the time, he called on the authorities to "set up an investigation team" to look into the circumstances behind her death.
In recent campaigning, he has maintained his stance, criticising the enforcement of mandatory hijab laws which require women to cover their head and neck in public since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"We oppose any violent and inhumane behaviour towards anyone, notably our sisters and daughters, and we will not allow these actions to happen," he said.
He also vowed to ease internet restrictions and to involve ethnic minorities in his government.
Pezeshkian was born in 1954 to an Iranian father of Turkic origin and a Kurdish mother in the city of Mahabad in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan.
He has represented Tabriz in Iran's parliament since 2008, served as health minister in Khatami's government, and supervised sending medical teams to the war front during the Iran-Iraq conflict between 1980 and 1988.
In 1993, Pezeshkian lost his wife and one of his children in a car accident. He never remarried and raised his remaining three children -- two sons and a daughter -- alone.
Campaigning on behalf of Pezeshkian was Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's combative former foreign minister who helped secure the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which fell through three years later.
Pezeshkian has called for reviving the accord -- which sought to curb Tehran's nuclear activity in return for sanctions relief -- to get Iran "out of isolation".
"If we manage to lift the sanctions, people will have an easier life while the continuation of sanctions means making people's lives miserable," he said during a televised interview.
Pezeshkian will be tasked with applying state policy outlined by the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority in the country.
pdm-mz/
- https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/world/pezeshkian-iran-s-new-reformist-president/ar-BB1pv9Bg?ocid=00000000
Related
Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots have had to dramatically change the way they fly after long flying Soviet jets, and it's a lot to overcome
In a short time, Ukraine's F-16 pilots have had to learn to fly very differently from the way they flew their Soviet-era jets.
NewsMoon Was Stolen, Claim Astronomers Challenging Lunar Origin Story
Rather than forming from an ancient collision between Earth and another planet, the moon may have been snatched from another orbit.
NewsTed Cruz Faces GOP Rebellion in Texas as Republicans Back Opponent
A number of Republicans have come out in support of Democrat Colin Allred in the Texas Senate race.
NewsBiden makes surprise appearance at White House briefing, says he may ask for more Helene response money
President Biden made a surprise appearance at the daily White House press briefing on Friday, delivering remarks on the port strike, latest jobs numbers and Hurricane Helene.
NewsNibi the Beaver’s Future Was On The Line. Then the Governor Stepped In.
This is a story about wildlife, about bureaucracy, about politics, about the internet. But, ultimately, it is a story about a beaver. It started two years ago when a baby beaver, just a few days old and weighing one pound, was found alongside a busy road in Sturbridge, Mass., a town 20 miles east of Springfield. There were “no parents in sight,” said Jane Newhouse, the president and founder of Newhouse Wildlife Rescue in Chelmsford, near Boston....
NewsI was at the Harris rally where Cheney spoke. Its significance cannot be overlooked.
Charlie Sykes attends the Liz Cheney and Kamala Harris rally in Ripon, Wisconsin and explains why Americans can't overlook the symbolism of this campaign event.
NewsMost Powerful Solar Flare in 7 Years Blasts Earth: Expect Stunning Auroras
The Sun just unleashed the most powerful flare we've seen in seven years. On October 3, a flare measured at a strength of X9.0 exploded right in the middle of the solar disk. Even more excitingly, it was accompanied by what is known as a halo coronal mass ejection – one that is ejected straight at Earth. It's the second X-class flare of October 2024, both emitted from the same active sunspot region, and the most powerful since September 2017, w
News