The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Saturday that the presidential elections won by the hard-line conservative candidate, Ebrahim Raisi, constituted a victory for Iran in the face of "enemy propaganda."

"The biggest winner in yesterday's elections is the Iranian nation, because it has risen once again in the face of the enemy's mercenary media propaganda," Khamenei said in a message posted on his website.

Earlier Saturday, the head of the Elections Committee, Jamal Araf, said during a press conference that Raisi obtained "more than 17.8 million" votes out of 28.6 million votes cast, noting that more than 59.3 million Iranians were invited to participate in the elections.

Raisi, 60, who has held the Chief Justic of Iran position since 2019, was the favorite to win the elections, which came in the midst of an economic and social crisis and was accompanied by questions about participation rates.