TEHRAN — In a message to his Emirati counterpart on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian offered condolences over the passing of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President.

The text of the message is as follows: 

Dear Mr. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, 

The news of the death of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, caused grief and emotion.

I offer my condolences to Your Excellency, the government and the nation of the friendly and brotherly country of the United Arab Emirates, and I ask God Almighty for God's mercy and forgiveness for the deceased, and for your patience and reward for you and your family.

Hossein Amir Abdollahian, 

Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs