IRNA -- British Foreign Secretary congratulated Hassan Rouhani’s re-election in Friday's presidential election.

Rouhani overwhelmingly won the majority of votes cast on Friday (May 19) by Iranians and was re-elected as 12th president of the country.

Following the announcement of the election result, Boris Johnson congratulated President Rouhani on Saturday for being elected for a second term “after a lively campaign in which the Iranian people participated in large numbers'.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli announced on Saturday that Rouhani gained 23,549,616 votes out the total 41,220,131, while his rival Ebrahim Raeisi, a principlist candidate, received 15,786,449 votes.

More than 40 million people out of some 56 million Iranians who were eligible to vote in the 12th presidential election, took part in the event, that equals a turnout of over 70 percent.

The British diplomat pointed to 'good progress' in UK-Iran ties during President Rouhani's first term of office, and appreciated Iran's commitment to the landmark nuclear deal that the country signed with major world powers in 2015.

Urging the full implementation of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), he encouraged President Rouhani to pursue engagement with the international community on various issues, including human rights, and those of mutual interest.