Iran’s Khamenei formally grants Masoud Pezeshkian presidential powers

Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian, left, sits next to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave his official endorsement to reformist Masoud Pezeshkian as the Islamic republic’s ninth president on July 28, following elections earlier this month.

In a message read by the director of Mr. Khamenei’s office, he said: “I endorse the vote (for) the wise, honest, popular and scholarly Mr. Pezeshkian, and I am appointing him as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The new president is due to be sworn in before parliament on Tuesday.