Iran’s interim president to Syria’s Assad: Tehran will continue support for resistance axis, Damascus

Mokhber made the remarks in a phone conversation with Assad on Thursday as the latter offered his condolences to the Iranian government and nation over the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and their companions in a helicopter crash in the northeastern province of East Azarbaijan on Sunday.

Mokhber thanked Syria’s move to declare three days of mourning and the presence of the country’s prime minister and his accompanying delegation in Tehran to take part in the funeral processions held for the Iranian martyrs.

“Syria is a strategic partner and a constant friend of the Iranian nation,” he added.

He noted that Assad’s message and the presence of the Syrian delegation in Tehran were a consolation for the Iranian people.

Iran lost Raisi and Amirabdollahian as two influential figures, which was a great loss for all Iranians, he stated.

The interim president emphasized that all institutions and bodies are fulfilling their duties like before, which is indicative of Iran’s strong power and prudent leadership of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

On Sunday, the helicopter carrying Raisi and his entourage crashed as it was on its way to Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan Province, from a location on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan where the Iranian president had opened a major dam project.

Amirabdollahian and two senior provincial officials along with crew members and bodyguard also died in the crash.

The Syrian president, for his part, said he was eager to express his condolences to Ayatollah Khamenei in person and added that he will travel to Tehran as soon as possible.

Assad emphasized that just like the late commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the late Iranian president was an influential figure in the region and the world, whose memory will remain etched in the minds of the Syrian nation and government.

Raisi always fought against oppression and global unilateralism and supported the resistance front, the oppressed nations in the region and across the world as well as the Palestinian cause, he added.

Assad expressed Syria’s full solidarity with Iran in all circumstances and said he is confident that the Islamic Republic is able to overcome this painful incident.