Iranian presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian waves during a campaign event in Tehran

Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and politician who has vowed to engage with the West, defeated opponent Saeed Jalili to win Iran's presidential run-off election, according to the Ministry of Interior.

The ministry declared that Pezeshkian had won "the majority of the votes cast on Friday, making him Iran's new president."

According to an official vote tally provided to the Associated Press (AP), Pezeshkian received 16.3 million votes against Jalili's 13.5 million following Friday's election.

Pezeshkian’s supporters had entered the streets of Tehran and other cities before dawn on Saturday to celebrate as his lead grew over Jalili, the AP reports.

Videos on social media featured Pezeshkian fans dancing on the streets of numerous American cities and towns with drivers blasting their horns in celebration of his win.

About 50% of voters cast ballots in a close contest between Pezeshkian, the only moderate among the four initial contenders who promised to open Iran to the outside world, and Jalili, the former nuclear negotiator who is adamantly in favour of strengthening Iran's relations with China and Russia.

Following Ebrahim Raisi's death in a helicopter crash, June 28 saw an exceptionally low attendance for the snap election, with over 60% of Iranian voters abstaining. This was followed by the run-off election on Friday.

Pezeshkian's victory, according to political observers, may lead to the advancement of a practical foreign policy, reduce tensions over the currently blocked negotiations with major powers to resurrect a 2015 nuclear deal, and enhance Iran's chances for social liberalisation and political pluralism.

Still, a lot of Iranian voters doubt Pezeshkian's ability to deliver on his campaign pledges because the former health minister has openly declared he has no intention of taking on Iran's influential security hawks and clergy.

The faltering economy, plagued by mismanagement and sanctions reinstated since 2018 after the US, then led by President Donald Trump, pulled out of the nuclear deal, was the subject of promises made by both presidential contenders.