Iran’s new president, the moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani, said his win was a victory over "extremism" in the Iran’s first vote since the controversial 2009 re-election of Ahmadinejad triggered mass protests that were put down with deadly force. Rowhani was declared outright winner with 50.68 percent of votes cast in Friday's election. Iran’s interior ministry said Rowhani won against five conservative candidates with 18.6 million votes out of the 36.7 million people who voted from an electorate of 50.5 million.

That was enough to ensure there would be no run-off against Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who came a distant second with 6.07 million votes, or 16.55 percent.

Iran’s new president, Hassan Rowhani, was a nuclear negotiator. He promised a more constructive approach for negotiations. Iran’s new president immediately got offers from major powers to return to talks, but Israel said sanctions should remain in place. Sanctions have hit the Iranian economy hard.
Iran's reformist press called Rowhani a "sheikh of hope." The press said his victory marked a return to optimism after the eight years the country suffered under the conservative rule of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As news of Rowhanis’ victory spread across the counry, Iranians took to the streets of Tehran, many dressed in Rowhani’s campaign color, purple, many dressd in green, the color of the reformist movement.

Rowhani, in his first statement after his election was confirmed, called on world powers to treat Iran with respect and recognize its right. He said, "This is a victory of intelligence, of moderation, of progress... over extremism. A new opportunity has been created by this great epic, and the nations who tout democracy and open dialogue should speak to the Iranian people with respect and recognize the rights of the Islamic republic."