New Delhi, July 6 (Reporter) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Iran’s president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian and said he looks forward to working closely with him to further strengthen the strong bilateral ties. In a post on X, PM Modi said: “Congratulations @drpezeshkian on your election as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Looking forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our warm and long-standing bilateral relationship for the benefit of our peoples and the region. Pro-reform candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won the runoff presidential elections held on Friday to become Iran’s ninth president. Out of a total of 30,530,157 votes counted, Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, won 16,384,403 votes while conservative opponent Saeed Jalili was behind with 13,538,179 ballots. The turnout was reported to be 49.8%. Pezeshkian, 69, had served as a lawmaker in the Iranian Parliament for five four-year terms. He was also the vice speaker of Iran’s 10th Parliament. The president-elect served as Iran’s minister of health for four years during the administration of then-President Mohammad Khatami. Pezeshkian previously also served as the chancellor of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and currently is a member of the academic staff at the prestigious university in northern Iran...////...