Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election on
Saturday, besting Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease
enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law.
A vote count offered by authorities put Pezeshkian, as the
winner with 16.3 million votes to Jalili’s 13.5 million in Friday’s election.
Sharif
congratulated Pezeshkian on X and said he looked forward to working closely
with the president-elect to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran bilateral ties and
promote regional peace and stability.
“As neighboring countries, Pakistan and Iran enjoy a close
and historic relationship. We must ensure a bright future for our two peoples
through mutually beneficial cooperation,” the Pakistan premier said.
In a separate statement, President Zardari extended his
felicitations to Pezeshkian and expressed confidence that Pakistan-Iran
relations would grow further stronger under his leadership.
“Pakistan looks forward to working together with Iran for
the peace and prosperity of the region,” Zardari said.
Pezeshkian’s win still sees Iran at a delicate moment, with
tensions high in the Middle East over the Israel war on Gaza, Iran’s advancing
nuclear program, and a looming US election that could put any chance of a
detente between Tehran and Washington at risk.
