TEHRAN- Iran’s interim president, Mohammad Mokhber, received a phone call from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Friday afternoon in which he underscored that the cordial relations between Tehran and Riyadh will continue after the passing of President Ebrahim Raisi. 

“The incident was very painful for us. The loss of Mr. Raisi hurt all of us, and the loss of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, who was very friendly with our Minister of Foreign Affairs, was also sorrowful,” the Saudi crown prince was quoted by Iranian media as telling Mokhber. 

Bin Salman stressed that Saudi Arabia will continue the path of developing relations with Iran, a goal that he described as being pursued by President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. 

He announced his country's readiness to expand economic relations with Iran.

Mokhber, for his part, thanked Saudi Arabia for its messages of condolences with Iran over the demise of its president. 

Describing the expansion of relations with neighboring countries as one of the important strategies of the late President Raisi, Mokhber noted, “It was difficult for us to lose a popular and hardworking president like Mr. Raisi, but the course of the country will not change and the same spirit of interest and trust between Iran and Saudi Arabia during the martyred president's term will continue.”

He stressed, “The continuation of the neighborhood policy of the 13th government and the development of relations with the countries of the region is the only option before all of us, and companionship and empathy with each other is the guarantee of stability and prosperity in the region.”

In this call, Mokhber invited the Saudi crown prince to pay a visit to Iran. Bin Salman accepted the invitation and extended an invitation for Mokhber to visit Saudi Arabia.