US expects no fundamental change under Iran's new president: State Department

WASHINGTON

The US does not expect any fundamental change under Iran's new president, the State Department said Monday.

Reformist candidate and former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran's July 5 presidential run-off with 53.7% of the vote, becoming the country's ninth president.

"We have no expectations that this election will lead to a fundamental change in Iran’s direction or its policies. At the end of the day, it's not the president that has the ultimate say over the future of Iran's policy. It’s the supreme leader," spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

"Obviously, if the new president had the authority to make steps to curtail Iran's nuclear program, to stop funding terrorism, to stop destabilizing activities in the region, those would be steps that we would welcome," said Miller. "But needless to say, we don't have any expectation that that's what's likely to ensue."

Iran's presidential election followed a tragic helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan province on May 19 which claimed the lives of the country's then-President Ebrahim Raisi and his Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.