Iran's newly elected president reaffirms his support for Hezbollah terrorists

Iran's newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, reaffirmed his support for the terrorist group Hezbollah. He also lashed out at Israel and maintained that he is confident in the role of the Lebanese Shiite militia in its conflict with Israel. 

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported the resistance of the peoples of the region against the illegitimate Zionist regime," Pezeshkian said, referring to Israel, in a message addressed to the leader of the Lebanese movement, Hassan Nasrallah, broadcast by the state news agency IRNA and reviewed by AFP.

"Support for the resistance is rooted in the fundamental policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran," added Pezeshkian, who won Saturday's presidential election over ultra-conservative Saïd Jalili.

The Iranian presidential election, scheduled for 2025, was moved up following the death of former President Ebrahim Raissi in a helicopter crash in May.

The Iranian Interior Ministry reported that Masud Pezeshkian won the presidential runoff election against Jalili.

Pezeshkian obtained over 16 million of the more than 30 million ballots counted compared to 13 million votes for his rival. Voter turnout stood at 49.8%.

Dissidents, especially from the diaspora, asked their compatriots not to participate in the elections called after the unexpected death of the then-President Raisi, known as the "Butcher of Tehran." The hashtag #ElectionCircus spread some of this criticism on X.