Reformist candidate and heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran's presidential election after beating his ultra-conservative rival Saeed Jalili in a run-off vote.
Iran's electoral authority said on Saturday that Pezeshkian, a former health minister, received 53.7% of the votes cast to the 44.3% won by Jalili, a former top government nuclear negotiator.
State television showed images of supporters celebrating the 69-year-old Pezeshkian's win by honking their car horns in the early hours of the morning.
"We will extend the hand of friendship to everyone," said Pezeshkian in his first remarks, emphasizing that he would work with his political opponents "for the advancement of the country."
Jalili did not immediately comment on the election results.
Pezeshkian ran a low-key campaign calling for renewed trust between the government and Iranians, many of whom have become disillusioned with politics after failed attempts at reform, political repression and an economic crisis.
But in view of the complex political situation and powerful interest groups in Iran, it is unclear to what extent Pezeshkian can affect significant change.
Yet his win - and the low voter turnout - showed the discontent many Iranians feel towards their leaders.
Some 61 million people were eligible to vote for a successor to president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Friday's run-off vote pitted Pezeshkian and Jalili against each other after none of the candidates gained an absolute majority in the first round on June 28.
Polling stations were to close at 6 pm on Friday. As expected, authorities allowed them to stay open later in many places, but voter turnout still only stood at about 49.8%, according to the electoral authority. In the first round last week turnout was a record low 40%.
Saudi leaders look forward to closer ties
Saudi Arabia's leaders congratulated Pezeshkian and expressed interest in the growth of ties with his country.
Last year, Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran, who supported opposing sides of the conflicts in Yemen and Syria, agreed in a China-brokered deal to restore ties after a rupture of seven years.
The Saudi state news agency SPA reported that King Salman had said in a congratulatory cable to Pezeshkian that he looks forward to "continued development of relations" between the two countries and coordination to "enhance regional and international security and peace."
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the oil-wealthy monarchy's de-facto ruler, sent similar congratulations, according to SPA.
Conservative reformer
Pezeshkian, a trained heart surgeon from north-western Iran who served in the army during the Gulf War, practised for years in the city of Tabriz.
In the early 1990s, hen lost his wife and one of his sons in a road accident. He often appeared at his campaign rallies with his daughter and grandchild.
He served as health minister during former president Mohammad Khatami's second term from 2001 to 2005.
In the TV debates, Pezeshkian described himself as a conservative politician who believes reforms are necessary.
Despite his moderate rhetoric, he has still expressed his loyalty to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Like many politicians from the reformist camp, Pezeshkian has called for improved in relations with the West.
He also criticized Iran's strict headscarf requirements for women and campaigned for votes with middle-class positions. He said he is opposed to internet censorship.
Critics say that he will have trouble implementing these reforms due to a majority of hardliners in parliament, however.
Growing public frustration
Out of a total of 80 candidates, the Guardian Council, a powerful Islamic supervisory body that vets the hopefuls, had only authorized six candidates for the election.
Two of six later withdrew, leaving three conservatives and the one more moderate candidate, Pezeshkian. Jalili is a loyal supporter of the leaders at the top of the Islamic Republic's system of power.
The president is only number two in Iran's power structure as Supreme Leader Khamenei functions as the head of state and has the final say in all strategic matters. He is also commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces.
The election came amid a severe economic crisis, as well as tensions with the West and regional powers in the Middle East. Frustration among the public with the enforcement of state authority, especially among the younger population, is running high.
Many Iranians, especially young people, have however lost faith in the possibility of seeing major political change at home.
Symbolic victory?
"Even among supporters of the regime, there are still significant numbers who are in favour of a more moderate approach and cautious reforms," Tareq Sydiq, an Iran analyst at Germany's Marburg University, told dpa.
Peseshkian's election victory is probably a symbolic success for Iran's moderate and reform-minded forces, he said. "This will certainly at least be recognized within the power system."
But it is unclear how far Peseshkian can make changes, after his criticism of the headscarf policy and strict checks by the morality police. "It remains to be seen whether the various power blocs will be impressed by his ideas," Sydiq said.
Overall, he said, with parliament currently dominated by hardliners, it is uncertain how many of the changes reformists are seeking can be made in practice.
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