Iran’s foreign minister says Raisi is new elected president

Iran’s Foreign Minister said on Saturday, June 19, that hardline judge Ebrahim Raisi is the country’s newly elected president and everyone would have to work with him from now on.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking a day after millions of Iranians voted in a contest that critics boycotted over economic woes and political restrictions, said Raisi would lead Iran well.

Zarif also told a diplomacy forum in the Turkish resort of Antalya that issues in Iran’s nuclear talks with Western powers were not insurmountable and he hoped to achieve a result before August.

Early congratulations

State media reported on Saturday said that Iran’s moderate presidential candidate Abdolnasser Hemmati congratulated Raisi, his hardline rival, for winning the election as the interior ministry said counting of the votes continued.

Millions of Iranians voted on Friday in a contest that has been expected to hand the presidency to Raisi, a 60-year-old senior judge who is subject to US sanctions for alleged human rights abuses.

“I hope your administration, under the leadership of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will make the Islamic Republic proud, improve livelihood and ensure the nation’s well-being and welfare,” media quoted former central bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati as saying in a letter.

Other candidates also congratulated Raisi.

Raisi is a harsh critic of the West and the standard-bearer of Iran’s security hawks. Accused by critics of human rights abuses stretching back decades – allegations his defenders deny – Raisi was appointed by Khamenei to the high-profile job of judiciary chief in 2019.

Hoping to boost their legitimacy, the country’s clerical rulers had urged people to turn out and vote on Friday, but dissidents inside and abroad said popular anger over economic hardship and curbs on freedoms kept many Iranians at home.

Another deterrent for many pro-reform voters was a lack of choice, after a hardline election body barred heavyweight moderate and conservative candidates from standing.

Opinion polls suggested turnout was around 44%, lower than previous elections.

Analysts said the exclusions by the Guardian Council cleared the way for Raisi’s expected victory.

Before Hemmati’s concession, a US State Department spokesperson said “Iranians were denied their right to choose their own leaders in a free and fair electoral process” – a likely reference to the disqualification of candidates. – Rappler.com