TEHRAN — Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has offered his condolences with the families of the victims of the recent naval incident and ordered the Army to launch an investigation into the incident.

Ayatollah Khamenei on Tuesday sent a message of sympathy to Army Chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi over the martyrdom of Navy forces in the fatal accident in the country’s southeastern waters.

The Leader said the tragic accident involving Konarak vessel that resulted in the martyrdom of a number of Navy servicemen has been “very bitter and regrettable”, Tasnim reported.

“Although the hardworking servicemen who have died in the course of hard duty will gloriously benefit from divine reward, God willing, the grief at the loss of the beloved ones for their families and the damage of loss of the sincere hardworking young forces to the Force (Navy) is so huge and heavy,” Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.

Offering condolences to the bereaved families and praying for the recovery of the injured, the Leader ordered the relevant authorities to “shed light on the dimensions of the incident, identify the ones possibly at fault, and make the necessary arrangements to prevent a recurrence of such damaging and bitter incidents.”

Nineteen sailors were martyred and 15 others injured during a naval exercise in the country’s southern waters.

The incident took place in the perimeter of Iran’s southern Jask port, in Hormozgan province.

On Sunday evening, an incident happened to the Konarak support vessel during a naval drill with other ships in waters near Jask port, where a number of the Navy’s sailors were martyred, the department said in a statement.

Following the incident, the naval rescue and relief teams were immediately deployed to the scene, disembarked the injured and the bodies, and took the injured servicemen to the medical centers, the statement said.

The forces on board the doomed vessel showed exemplary courage to save their comrades, it added.

Following the incident, Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi expressed condolences to the bereaved families.

“I express my deepest condolences on the martyrdom of a number of the white [uniform] wearers of the Iranian Navy to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the bereaved families as well as all my fellow soldiers,” Mousavi wrote in a message on Monday, according to Mehr.

He also prayed God Almighty to bestow the martyrs the highest places in heaven for their braveries and selflessness.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also expressed condolences to the families of the victims, saying he was deeply saddened by the incident.

“We are all indebted to these loved ones who sacrificed their lives for our security and well-being,” Zarif said in his message.

MH/PA