Asia Pacific leaders congratulate Iran's new president

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Leaders of Pakistan, Malaysia and India congratulated on Saturday Masoud Pezeshkian for his victory in the Iranian snap presidential election.

Pezeshkian defeated his conservative opponent, Saeed Jalili, the former lead nuclear negotiator and head of the top security body, by a margin of 2.7 million votes.

The vote came after the May 19 helicopter crash which killed President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, among others.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he looked forward to working with Pezeshkian to further strengthen bilateral ties and promote regional peace and stability. "As neighboring countries, Pakistan and Iran enjoy a close and historic relationship. We must ensure a bright future for our two peoples through mutually beneficial cooperation," he said on X.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the outcome reflected the vibrant spirit of Iranian democracy and heralded a promising future for Tehran. "The potential for Malaysia-Iran relations is immense and filled with promise. We look forward to strengthening our bilateral mechanisms to deepen and broaden cooperation between the two countries," he said.

"We need to ensure that justice and humanity are restored, one way or another. I look forward to welcoming Dr Pezeshkian to Malaysia at the earliest opportunity."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi looked forward to working closely with the new president to further strengthen the bilateral relationship for the benefit of both peoples and the region.

Japanese Press Secretary Kitamura Toshihiro said Tokyo hopes Iran will play a "constructive role" for alleviating tensions and stabilizing the situation in the Middle East region.

"Japan will continue its proactive diplomatic efforts toward easing tensions and stabilizing the situation in the Middle East region based on the traditional friendly relationship with Iran, while enhancing dialogues with the new Iranian administration under the presidency" of Pezeshkian, the statement read.