Masoud Pezeshkian
Masoud Pezeshkian | |
|---|---|
Pezeshkian in 2025 | |
| 9th President of Iran | |
| Assumed office 28 July 2024 | |
| Supreme Leader | Ali Khamenei Mojtaba Khamenei |
| Vice President | Mohammad Reza Aref |
| Preceded by | Ebrahim Raisi |
| Member of the Interim Leadership Council | |
| In office 1 March 2026 – 8 March 2026 Serving with Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i and Alireza Arafi | |
| Preceded by | Ali Khamenei (as Supreme Leader) |
| Succeeded by | Mojtaba Khamenei (as Supreme Leader) |
| Member of the Consultative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 27 May 2008 | |
| Constituency | Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr (East Azerbaijan) |
| Majority | 261,605 (36.27%) |
| Minister of Health and Medical Education | |
| In office 22 August 2001 – 24 August 2005 | |
| President | Mohammad Khatami |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Farhadi |
| Succeeded by | Kamran Bagheri Lankarani |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 September 1954 Mahabad, Iran |
| Party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | Reformists |
| Spouse | Fatemeh Majidi (died 1994) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (MBBS) Iran University of Medical Sciences |
| Profession | Heart surgeon |
| Signature | |
| Website | drpezeshkian |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Iran |
| Branch/service | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Battles/wars | Iran–Iraq War |
Masoud Pezeshkian (born 29 September 1954) is an Iranian politician and former heart surgeon who has served as the ninth president of Iran since 2024. A member of the reformist faction, he is the oldest person to serve in this position, taking office at the age of 69.
Born in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan, to an Iranian Azerbaijani and Iranian Kurdish family, Pezeshkian graduated from the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences with a degree in medicine and served as a doctor for Iranian soldiers in the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988). Pezeshkian served as governor of Piranshahr and Naghadeh counties and his political career began in 1997 when he joined Mohammad Khatami's administration as Deputy Health Minister. He served as Minister of Health and Medical Education from 2001 to 2005. He was later elected to the parliament five times, representing Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr electoral district, from 2008 to 2024. During this time, Pezeshkian was also First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament from 2016 to 2020. Prior to the 2024 presidential election, he enrolled himself in two previous elections, the 2013 election, in which he withdrew, and the 2021 election, in which he was rejected from running. Presenting himself as a moderate, he won the election against principlist nominee Saeed Jalili.
Pezeshkian began his presidency by continuing support for the "Axis of Resistance" in the Iran–Israel proxy conflict. He presided over the October 2024 Iranian strikes on Israel in response to Israel's assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian military officer Abbas Nilforoushan. Pezeshkian hoped to revive the agreement with the United States regarding Iran's nuclear program, in exchange for lifting the international sanctions against it. However, following Israeli strikes in June 2025, tensions escalated into the Twelve-Day War during which an unsuccessful attempt on his life was made. Following the assassination of Ali Khamenei on 1 March 2026, Pezeshkian was selected to serve on the Interim Leadership Council, along with Alireza Arafi and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.