Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei today ratified reformist Masud Pezeshkian as the country's new president, with the inauguration scheduled for Tuesday in parliament.
"Following the great nation, I ratify the election of the wise, honest, popular and erudite personality of Dr. Masud Pezeshkian and appoint him President of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Khamenei's decree, which was read by his chief of staff, Mohammad Golpaygani.
Ali Khamenei, who is Iran's highest political and religious authority, wished the country's new president success and assured that he would continue to support him "as long as he maintains the policy of following the straight path of Islam and the revolution."
The ratification ceremony, which took place at the Hoseiniye Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran, was attended by the country's top political and military leaders. On one of the chairs was a photograph of the previous president, Ebrahim Raisi, whose death in a helicopter crash in May forced early elections.
After reading the presidential decree, Pezeshkian thanked Khamenei for his support and admitted that he had "a heavy burden on his shoulders" in his new mission.
"If we implement the general policies of the supreme leader, we will be the best," he assured, while promising "justice" to the Iranian people and once again calling for national unity and for "differences to be left aside", in an apparent reference to the country's conservative sectors.
The 69-year-old heart surgeon will be the ninth president. His inauguration will take place on Tuesday, at an event attended by around 70 international political figures, according to the Iranian media.
Pezeshkian won the presidential election with 53.6% of the vote, against the ultra-conservative Saeed Jalili with 44.3%.
