Reformist Pezeshkian wins Iran’s presidential runoff election, besting hard-liner Jalili

Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s runoff presidential election, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili. Pezeshkian has promised to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. He also said there would be no radical changes to Iran’s Shiite theocracy, and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country. But even Pezeshkian’s modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely held by hard-liners, among other challenges. A vote count offered Saturday by authorities put Pezeshkian as the winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s election.