Kazakh president conveys condolences to Iran over Kerman bombings

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Thursday conveyed his condolences to Iran over recent twin bombings in the city of Kerman that claimed at least 84 lives.

“Sharing the bitterness of the irreparable loss, on behalf of the people of Kazakhstan and on my own behalf, I express deep condolences to you and the families who lost their loved ones, as well as to the entire Iranian people,” Tokayev said in a telegram addressed to his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, according to the Kazakh presidency.

Tokayev said he received the news on the bombings with “deep regret,” and wished a speedy recovery to all those affected by the “terrorist attack.”

At least two powerful explosions ripped through the southeastern city of Kerman on Wednesday, in close vicinity to the cemetery where Iran's former top military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani lies buried.

Thousands of people had gathered there to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the death of Soleimani, the former chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.