Masoud Pezeshkian Endorsed as Iran’s President

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei officially authorized Pezeshkian to take office in a ceremony at the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah of Tehran, attended by senior Iranian and foreign officials.

During the event, Pezeshkian received his validation edict from the Leader and was officially validated into the office for four years.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi briefed the participants at the event about the measures to hold nationwide presidential elections.

Afterwards, the head of the Leader’s office, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpayegani, took the podium to read the text of the endorsement decree, before an address by the president-elect about his general plans to run the executive branch of power.

The endorsement ceremony will be followed by a public inauguration on July 30 in the Iranian Parliament, where Pezeshkian will take his public oath of office in front of Iranian lawmakers and foreign dignitaries from dozens of countries.

The parliamentary law stipulates that the new president should present his plans and introduce his ministers within two weeks after inauguration.

The lawmakers will then discuss the credentials of the proposed ministers for a week before holding a final session on the votes of confidence.

Pezeshkian was elected to the Parliament as a representative of the northwestern city of Tabriz in the parliamentary elections on March 1.

After the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19, Pezeshkian became one of six final candidates singled out by the Constitutional Council from 80 applicants seeking the presidency.

He won the highest number of votes in the first round of the presidential election on June 28 and faced off the runner-up, Saeed Jalili, in the runoff election on July 5.

The physician-turned-politician won the runoff by garnering 53.66% of the votes.

His new administration, the 14th one after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, will hold office for four years.