Turkish foreign minister offers condolences to Iran after death of president, top diplomat

By Can Efesoy

ANKARA (AA) — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday told Iran's interim Foreign Minister Ali Bageri Keni that he was deeply saddened by the death of the country's President Ebrahim Raisi and top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

In a phone call with Keni, Fidan also conveyed his condolences to "friendly and brotherly" people of Iran.

Raisi was returning from the inauguration ceremony of a dam on the Iran-Azerbaijan border on Sunday when the crash took place, according to Iranian state broadcasters.

The crash also resulted in the deaths of Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as well as that of Malik Rahmeti, the governor of East Azerbaijan province, and Imam Ayatollah Ali Hashim of Tabriz province.