Massoud Pezeshkian wins the presidential election in Iran

Iran's reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won the second round of the presidential election against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, the Ministry of Interior announced.
Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes and Jalili more than 13 million, said Mohsen Eslami, a spokesman for the electoral authorities. Voter turnout was 49.8%.
The number of invalid ballots is over 600,000.
Early presidential elections were held after former head of state Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on May 19.
Pezeshkian thanked his supporters who came to vote "with love and to help" the country.
"We will extend a hand of friendship to everyone; we are all people of this country; we must use everyone for the progress of the country," he said on state television, AFP reported.
The vote came amid regional tensions over the war in Gaza, a row with the West over Iran's nuclear program and domestic discontent over the state of Iran's sanctions-hit economy. | BGNES