Iranians have taken to the streets to celebrate a new era for protest riddled-Iran after reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian claimed victory in the presidential election. He secured 53.7 percent of the votes. Iran declared election following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

Pezeshkian, who was the chancellor of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, had run for presidency in 2013 and 2021 but failed to make any headway represented Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr electoral district in the Parliament of Iran.

He was elected in the second round of voting after securing the highest number of votes in the first round.  Pezeshkian defeated hardliner Saeed Jalili who won more than 13.5 million votes. Voting began on June 28, but was marred by the lowest voter turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Masoud Pezeshkian is a Cardiac Surgeon By Training

By profession, Pezeshkian is a trained heart surgeon. He came to limelight when he stood up against the crackdown in the 2009 pro-democracy protests and then in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. In a television interview during the 2022 protests, Pezeshkian said it was the government’s fault for implementing religious faith through the use of force. He took responsibility and added that the religious scholars, mosques and the broadcasting authority should also bear part of the blame.

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Pezeshkian, 69, comes from an ethnically mixed family – his father was an Azeri, while his mother was Kurdish. His wife and children died in 1994 in a car crash. Since then, he devoted his time to politics and turning around Iranian politics for good.

Masoud Pezeshkian to Turn Iran Around

Pezeshkian strives to make Iran’s image better and advancing national interests. He highlighted the guiding principle of the country’s foreign policy as ‘neither East nor West’, and outlined his government’s commitment to advancing national interests in the foreign policy sphere.

Pezeshkian emphasized the importance of prioritizing relationships with neighboring countries and expanding global connections to foster the country’s growth while emphasizing the necessity of diversifying foreign policy options to enhance trade and engagement. During the election rally, he promised to make poverty, discrimination, war, lies and corruption disappear from Iran.

The new president wants to bridge the gap between the people and the government.