Iran's Khamenei endorses Rouhani's 2nd term as President

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday endorsed a second term for Hassan Rouhani as the country's President.

In a ceremony broadcast live on state television, Khamenei gave his official approval for Rouhani, reports Xinhua news agency.

Rouhani won a landslide victory on May 19 by garnering 57 per cent of the ballots.

His conservative rival Ebrahim Raisi came second with 38.5 per cent.

Rouhani's key political achievement during the past four years in office was signing a nuclear deal with six major world powers -- UK, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US -- which put an end to a decade-long dispute over the country's nuclear programme.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed in July 2015 and was implemented in January 2016.

Rouhani will take oath in parliament on Saturday.

--IANS

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