Turkish parliament speaker expresses condolences over attacks in Iran

By Ali Kemal Akan

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish parliament speaker on Thursday expressed condolences with his Iranian counterpart over an attack during a ceremony in the city of Kerman marking the anniversary of death of commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani​​​​​​​.

Numan Kurtulmus, who spoke to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over phone, said on X that he "conveyed our condolences for the terrorist attacks in the province of Kerman."

"We emphasized that Türkiye has been fighting against terrorism for many years and that the countries in the region must understand the reality of terrorism in the best way and develop sincere cooperation against terrorism," he added.

"We also underlined that Muslim countries should further increase and strengthen their support for the Palestinian cause in every field."

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.