TEHRAN – During a weekly press conference on Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman asserted that the tragic passing of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will not halt Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause. 

“Supporting the resistance of the Palestinian people against the occupation of the Zionist regime is a policy based on the values of the revolution and the ideals of the Imam and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. Therefore, despite this incident, no disruption will be created in Iran's effective support for the Palestinian people and resistance movements to uphold the rights of Palestine. Iran will continue its unwavering support at various levels with officials of other countries. Supporting the Palestinian people is an ethical duty and an international responsibility,” Nasser Kanaani noted while standing beside a picture of the late Amir Abdollahian adorned with a black ribbon. 

President Raisi, Minister Amir Abdollahian, and six others lost their lives during a helicopter crash in Iran’s mountainous northwestern region on May 19. Reports show the incident occurred due to bad weather conditions with no signs of foul play found so far. 

Funeral processions took place in Tabriz, Tehran, and Mashhad for three days last week. Estimates suggest over 12 million people participated in the ceremonies to bid farewell to the martyred officials. Dozens of countries also saw their presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, or other high-ranking officials visit Iran on Wednesday to offer condolences over the tragedy. 

“The role of the martyred President in developing Iran's foreign relations with other countries and multilateral structures is undoubtedly a lasting one, and we witnessed a leap in the development of Iran's foreign relations and the elevation of our country's regional and global status. This claim was evident in the abundance of condolence messages from the early moments of this tragic incident with the Iranian people and the participation of high-ranking delegations in the commemoration ceremony for the esteemed martyrs,” Kanaani stated adding that Iran received over 330 condolence messages from the top brass across the world. 

During their first session following the chopper crash, various international organizations, including the UN Security Council, also held a moment of silence to honor President Raisi.

President Raisi Is credited for expanding dialogue with various countries in the region as well as across the world. During his short three-year tenure, Iran signed a rapprochement deal with Saudi Arabia and gained memberships in important international bodies like the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Martyr Raisi’s administration also began efforts to revive relations with Egypt, whose foreign minister traveled to Iran last week despite the lack of official diplomatic ties between the two countries.  

Iran seeks expansion of relations with regional countries

When asked about recent statements by Bahraini officials announcing that the Persian Gulf state is willing to restore diplomatic ties with Iran, the foreign ministry spokesman said Tehran has taken note of the statements. 

“We heard those comments and took note of them. We appreciate the Bahraini king’s show of solidarity and message of condolence as well as the presence of Bahrain's Foreign Minister at the ceremony honoring martyr Raisi and martyr Amir Abdollahian,” he said, adding that Tehran hopes to “witness an expansion of relations between regional countries with the wisdom of regional leaders.” 

Elsewhere in his comments, Kanaani said Tehran and Washington have consistently maintained indirect contact and exchanged messages regarding the termination of sanctions in the past months. 

“The exchange of messages between Iran and the American side regarding the lifting of sanctions has always been ongoing and has not been discontinued. These negotiations are about nuclear issues and discussions on lifting sanctions, and they have never deviated from this framework. They are solely within the framework of nuclear issues. The content of reports published in some Western media regarding these discussions is not accurate.”