President Al-Assad congratulates Iran’s President-elect Pezeshkian on winning elections

DAMASCUS, JUL.6, (ST)- Today, President Bashar Al-Assad  sent a cable of congratulation to the Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian on winning the presidential elections.

“I congratulate you on the confidence of the dear Iranian people, and I congratulate the leadership and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the success of the electoral process, wishing you prosperity in everything that preserves Iran’s security and stability,” President al-Assad said in the cable, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The President added: “Your country, which is impregnable as it has always been, is one of the most important countries with which we are keen to ensure that the relationship is at its peak because this relationship is based on roots established through decades of mutual respect, common understanding and firm principles to which Syria and Iran have always adhered.”

“We will work with you to boost the Syrian-Iranian strategic relationship and open new promising horizons for bilateral cooperation as resistance will remain the common approach that we follow in order to preserve the pride of our countries and defend the interests of their peoples,” President Al-Assad affirmed.

According to IRNA News Agency, Masoud Pezeshkian won the runoff presidential elections held on Friday to become Iran’s 9th president.

Out of a total of 30,530,157 votes counted, Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, won 16,384,403 votes while Jalili stood behind his rival with 13,538,179 ballots. The turnout was reported to be 49.8%.

Pezeshkian, 69, had served as a lawmaker in the Iranian Parliament for five 4-year terms.

He was also the vice speaker of Iran’s 10th Parliament. The president-elect served as Iran’s minister of health for four years during the administration of then-President Mohammad Khatami.

The early election was held on June 28 across Iran with the participation of four candidates.

Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili won more votes than other hopefuls; meanwhile, the runoff election was planned for a week later as none of the candidates managed to get the majority of votes to become the president of Iran

Basma Qaddour