MOSCOW: Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali has said that the two countries will continue to develop their ties even after the martyrdom of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
The progress of Moscow-Tehran ties, which President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian initiated, will continue as before, the Jalali said on Friday night.
He was speaking at a ceremony held at Moscow’s Islamic Center, attended by Muslims from Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as university students from other countries like Japan.
Also in his remarks, Jalali expressed gratitude towards top Russian officials for their sympathy and assistance since the moment the helicopter carrying Raisi and his companions went missing in northwest Iran on May 19.
The ambassador said that even though the news came out on a holiday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with his security and military officials on how to assist Iran at that difficult time.
Jalali added that he had been invited to attend the meeting as well, and kept connection with Russian officials afterwards. Russian officials continued to sympathize with the Iranian nation after the martyrdom of Raisi and Amirabdollahian was announced, he added.
The ambassador, meanwhile, hailed the late president and foreign minister for their efforts to serve Iran’s national interests. He said that Raisi was also a caring person for the people of Gaza and made a lot of efforts to alleviate their suffering.
