Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran's presidential election

Candidate beat his hardline rival Saeed Jalili by nearly three million votes in run-off held on Friday

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has been elected as Iran’s next president, beating the hardliner Saeed Jalili by nearly three million votes in Friday's run-off, according to figures released by authorities.

Mr Pezeshkian promised to reach out to the West and ease enforcement of the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests against the Islamic Republic.

Authorities on Saturday put Mr Pezeshkian as the winner with 16.3 million votes to Mr Jalili’s 13.5 million.

Iran's Interior Ministry said 30 million people turned out for the run-off vote.

Supporters of Mr Pezeshkian, 69, a heart surgeon and long-serving member of parliament, went into the streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn to celebrate as his lead grew over former nuclear negotiator Mr Jalili.

Mr Pezeshkian said he would “extend the hand of friendship to everyone” in his first remarks after being declared winner.

“We will extend the hand of friendship to everyone; we are all people of this country; we should use everyone for the progress of the country,” Mr Pezeshkian said on state television.

Out of a total of 30,530,157 votes counted, Mr Pezeshkian won 16,384,403 votes while Mr Jalili stood behind his rival with 13,538,179.

He is expected to be sworn in before parliament in the coming days after the vote count is confirmed by a hardline election watchdog and approved by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mr Pezeshkian has been elected to parliament five times since 2008, and served as deputy speaker from 2016 to 2020. The president-elect served as Iran’s minister of health for four years between 2001 and 2005 during the administration of then-president Mohammad Khatami.

He assumes the presidency at a delicate moment for Iran, with tensions high in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Tehran's advancing nuclear programme, and a looming election in the US that could put any chance of a detente between Tehran and Washington at risk.

Under Iran's dual system of clerical and republican rule, the president cannot usher in any major policy shift on Iran's nuclear programme or support for militia groups across the Middle East because Mr Khamenei, as supreme leader, has final say in all state matters.

However, the president can influence the tone of Iran's policy and he will be closely involved in selecting the successor to Mr Khamenei, now 85.

In TV debates and interviews, Mr Pezeshkian has promised not to contest Mr Khamenei's policies.

“If I try but fail to fulfil my campaign promises, I would say goodbye to political work and not continue. There is no point in wasting our life and not being able to serve our dear people,” he said in a video message to voters.

The first round of voting June 28 was marked by the lowest turnout in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranian officials have long pointed to turnout as a sign of support for the country's Shiite theocracy, which has been under strain after years of economic sanctions, mass demonstrations and repression of dissent.

The election was called after the death of hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

More than 61 million Iranians over the age of 18 were eligible to vote, with about 18 million of them between 18 and 30. Voting was to end at 6 pm on Friday but was extended until midnight to boost participation.

With reporting from agencies