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.
