Raisi phones Erdogan to congratulate his reelection

June 7, 2023 - 21:34

TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke over the phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to congratulate him on his re-election.

Raisi expressed hope that the economic, political, security, cultural and commercial relations between the two friendly and neighboring countries will expand even more in the new era, according to a statement by the Iranian presidency.

Raisi also pointed to the effective role of regional cooperation between Iran and Turkey in stabilizing and strengthening the stability and security of the region, and called for more acceleration of regional cooperation between the two countries with the aim of securing the interests of the countries in the region.

For his part, Erdogan expressed gratitude for Raisi's goodwill on behalf of himself and the people of his country in the telephone conversation.

“In the upcoming period, the process of expanding relations between Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue with more strength and seriousness in various fields,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan also announced his country's desire to continue regional cooperation, including in the framework of the four-way cooperation between Turkey, Iran, Russia and Syria.

The call came after Raisi sent a congratulatory message to Erdogan. In the message, Raisi considered the re-election of Erdogan a sign of the continued valuable trust of the Turkish people in him.

Raisi also expressed confidence that in the coming period, the friendly relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Turkey based on strong historical, cultural, religious ties, good neighborliness, mutual respect and common interests of the two nations will further be strengthened and the close cooperation between the two countries will provide more suitable conditions for strengthening the peace and stability and development of the region.

In a tense run-off after he failed to secure more than 50 percent of votes required for an outright victory in the first round on May 14, Erdogan secured a victory on May 28.

Erdogan received 52.14 percent of votes in the second round, beating his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who won 47.86 percent, according to the Supreme Election Council.