Khamenei Officially Endorses Pezeshkian as Iran's President

A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Khamenei Officially Endorses Pezeshkian as Iran's President

A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Masoud Pezeshkian as the country's president on Sunday, after he won the elections this month.

Pezeshkian is a relative moderate who will be sworn in on Tuesday.

In a ceremony broadcast live on state television, Khamenei gave his approval for Pezeshkian, and in a speech afterwards, the supreme leader reiterated Iran's longstanding anti-Israel stance.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) is not a state, it is a criminal gang, a bank of killers, and a terrorist band," Khamenei said in his speech, while praising Hamas for its resistance against Israel in Gaza.

Pezeshkian's victory lifted hopes of a thaw in Iran's antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear dispute with world powers.

But as the ultimate authority in Iran, Khamenei has the final say in all state matters like the country's foreign and nuclear policy as well as Pezeshkian's upcoming selections for key cabinet posts, such as the foreign, oil and intelligence ministers.



Iranian Media Denies ‘Rumors’ Israel Struck Home of Supreme Leader

 In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1989 death of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini at his shrine just outside Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1989 death of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini at his shrine just outside Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
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Iranian Media Denies ‘Rumors’ Israel Struck Home of Supreme Leader

 In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1989 death of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini at his shrine just outside Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1989 death of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini at his shrine just outside Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

An Iranian semiofficial news agency has denied “rumors” that an Israeli airstrike targeted the home of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

It is the first time media in Iran has explicitly acknowledged the country’s paramount leader was a target.

The report came from the Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Fars described the rumors as showing “the US and the Zionist regime’s anger and confusion in the face of the supreme leader’s firm statements made today.”

Khamenei earlier Wednesday warned that the United States that strikes targeting Iran will “result in irreparable damage for them” and that his country would not heed to US President Donald Trump’s call for surrender.