TEHRAN - Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has offered condolences on the passing of the country’s Governor to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, Shana reported.

Kazempour Ardebili, 68, passed away in a hospital in Tehran on Saturday, two weeks after he slipped into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage.

"I can't believe that my compassionate friend, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, has suddenly left this mortal world for eternal destiny, but death is both a reality and a truth from which there is no escape and we can do nothing but to surrender." Zanganeh wrote in his message of condolence.

After nearly 23 years of close cooperation with Kazempour I can testify that he was a pious, humble, and a very honorable man who was a true and unwavering servant to the Iranian nation, loyal to the Islamic Republic and a lover of Iran for whom pride and progress of Iran was a constant concern, Zanganeh stated.

“He was a prominent diplomat who defended our national interests intelligently and vigorously in OPEC for more than three decades, in the most difficult circumstances and in spite of all adversity.”

Also, in a message, Foreign Minister Zarif expressed his condolences, saying, “The death of our dear brother, modest friend and honorable colleague, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, a veteran and unique diplomat of our country, is a great loss for the diplomatic community.”

“This survivor of the June 28, 1981 bombing, he had always remained an astute and dignified defender of the national interests of the country either as an ambassador or minister or deputy minister and served as a reliable, exact and straightforward advisor to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s officials,” Zarif added.

Kazempour Ardebili was appointed as Iran’s representative to OPEC in 1995 and served for 13 years.

He once again became Iran’s governor to OPEC in 2013 and had held the post until he passed away.

In the early 1990s, Kazempour Ardebili had been Iran’s ambassador to Japan. He also served as the country's deputy foreign minister and deputy oil minister in the 1980s.

EF/MA