President-elect Pezeshkian vows to 'extend hand of friendship to everyone'

Iran's  president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian says he will "extend the hand of friendship to everyone" in his first remarks since being declared the winner of a runoff vote against former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

"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," Pezeshkian said on national television on Saturday.

Later, he took to X to thank the Iranian people for putting their trust in him, pledging not to let them.  

"Dear people of Iran, the elections are over and this is just the beginning of our togetherness. The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy and trust. I extend my hand to you and I swear on my honor that I will not leave you alone on this path. Don't leave me alone."

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi also thanked the people for their participation in the vote and congratulated Pezeshkian on the victory.

"Thanks God, the 14th presidential election ended in full security, soundness and serious competition of candidates and the participation of over 30 million people of Iran, and the ninth president of Iran was elected.

"Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian was elected as the head of the 14th government, and I would like to congratulate him," he said.

Vahidi touched on wrong analyses and efforts made to suggest that elections in Iran had no meaning, saying the results put the seal on the invalidity of such claims. 

He thanked everyone who worked to create a positive atmosphere, foremost the people for their participation and Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei "who defined a framework based on the four components of security, health, competition and participation and facilitated the election process with his guidelines".

The minister also thanked senior clerics for recommending people to vote as well as families of martyrs, especially late President Ebrahim Raeisi.

"The government of Ayatollah Raeisi was true to his promise and we learned from him to work within the framework of the intentions of the Eminent Leader of the Revolution."

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