PM Modi congratulates Iran’s President-elect, says looking forward to strengthen ties

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Iran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi and said he looks forward to working with him to further strengthen the warm ties between India and Iran.

“Congratulations to His Excellency Ebrahim Raisi on his election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I look forward to working with him to further strengthen the warm ties between India and Iran,” he tweeted.

Congratulations to His Excellency Ebrahim Raisi on his election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I look forward to working with him to further strengthen the warm ties between India and Iran.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 20, 2021

On Sunday, the Iranian interior ministry announced that ultraconservative cleric and judiciary chief Raisi has been elected Iran’s eighth president.

Raisi will take office in early August, replacing President Hassan Rouhani who was not allowed by the constitution to run for a third consecutive term.

The ministry confirmed on Saturday that Raisi won 61.95 per cent of the vote on a voter turnout of 48.8 per cent – the lowest turnout for a presidential election since the 1979 revolution.

Raisi got 28,933,004 votes, while former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei finished third with 3,412,712 votes and was followed by moderate candidate Abdolnasswer Hemmati with 2,427,201 votes, and conservative Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi with 999,718 votes.