Besting hardliner, reformist Pezeshkian wins Iran's presidential runoff election
![Reformist candidate for the Iran's presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian clenches his fist after casting his vote as he is accompanied by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 5, 2024. Iranians are voting in a runoff election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a May helicopter crash in the country’s northwest along with the foreign minister and several other officials. An Iranian politician pumps his fist in the air as people crowd around him.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7256295.1720255155!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/iran-election.jpg)
Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran's runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hardliner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement of the country's mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.