Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist contender, won the Iranian presidential runoff election on Saturday, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him.
“Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship for the benefit of our peoples and the region,” Modi wrote on social media platform X.
Despite Tehran’s ostracism by Western nations, particularly the US, India and Iran maintain cordial relations while New Delhi seeks further security cooperation with the US.
Both nations agreed to construct and outfit Iran’s long-stalled Chabahar port project in May, which prompted Washington to warn Indian companies involved in the project that they could face sanctions.
In the second round of the ballot, ultraconservative challenger Saeed Jalili received about 44% of the vote, while Pezeshkian received about 54%.
Elections were scheduled for 2025, however they were called sooner owing to President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter accident.
