President Ebrahim Raeisi congratulated the arrival of the New Year and Christmas to Pope Francis in a message on Sunday.
"I would like to sincerely congratulate His Excellency and all the believers in the world on the arrival of the auspicious birthday of Jesus Christ 'peace be upon him' and the beginning of the new year 2024," Raeisi wrote.
"Jesus Christ (pbuh), the prophet of peace and friendship, and his religion are full of compassion, patience and standing against oppression and helping the deprived and oppressed," the Iranian president further said, adding that the Christian prophet's teachings can direct today's human being towards perfection.
He said that it is upsetting that international organizations under the influence of Western countries have not done anything to stop the killing of people in Gaza by the Zionist Israeli regime,
Raeisi further wished for the international community to take immediate action in the new year to put an end to the killing of innocent Palestinians by the Zionist regime.
MNA