In a statement released on Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that the age-old relations between the two countries that are based on good faith and mutual respect will further improve under the elected president.”
Pointing to the fact that next year will mark 120 years since Iran and Brazil established relations, the spokesman said, “Over the past years, the two countries have had growing relations, especially in the field of economy and trade, and, given the many existing potentials in bilateral and multilateral relations, the Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that these relations will be solidified and deepened under President Lula.”
Lula da Silva secured 50.8 percent of the vote compared with 49.2 percent for incumbent Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday.
The vote marked the first time that the sitting president failed to win re-election. Just over two million votes separated the two candidates; the previous closest race, in 2014, was decided by a margin of roughly 3.5 million votes.