TEHRAN 

Iran's president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian addressed a gathering of his supporters in Tehran on Saturday for the first time since his win in the presidential runoff vote, offering cooperation with parliament and the judiciary to address the country's issues.

The new reformist president was joined by hundreds of his supporters at the shrine of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, where he delivered his maiden speech as the newly elected chief executive.

Pezeshkian, a veteran reformist lawmaker, defeated his conservative rival and former lead nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili by securing 16.3 million votes out of a total of 30.5 million, compared to Jalili's 13.5 million.

Voter turnout was recorded at 49.8%, significantly higher than the previous round on June 28 (40%) and the last presidential election in 2021 (48.8%).

He offered to cooperate with other branches of the government, including parliament and the judiciary, pledging to "eliminate divergence from policy and governance."

The former health minister and lawmaker from the northwestern city of Tabriz said he hopes parliament, "in alignment with the majority vote of the people, prepares itself to cooperate with the government to navigate through crises."

Notably, the Iranian parliament, which was re-elected in March, is dominated by conservatives. Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was one of the five presidential hopefuls in the first round.

Pezeshkian said he considers the people's verdict in the July 5 election a "burden" on his shoulders and vowed to be the "voice of the voiceless and the marginalized."

He said task of the elected government in these "critical conditions" is "difficult" and that he will strive to advance "dialogue, convergence, and national unity" in governance to address the country's issues.

The president-elect also extended an olive branch to the supporters of his presidential rival, Jalili, urging them to "join hands" to make Iran prosperous.

"To all those who did not participate in this election, I say it is time to see you and hear your words," he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Pezeshkian met supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following his victory in the presidential runoff election.

According to state media, Khamenei congratulated the new president on securing a majority vote and expressed satisfaction with the increased voter turnout in this round.

The supreme leader expressed hope that the president-elect would utilize the people's capacities and the country's abundant resources to advance progress and development.