TEHRAN, Apr. 04 (MNA) – The Iranian president and Iraqi prime minister held a phone call Wednesday to express support for Palestinians and emphasize the need for strengthening bilateral relations.

According to a statement by the Iranian presidential office, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani held a phone call with   Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, the president of Iran on Wednesday night during which he offered condolences on the martyrdom of senior IRGC Quds Force commander Major General Mohammadreza Zahedi and a group of his comrades in the terrorist attack conducted by the Zionist criminal regime on the consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria, to the leader of the Islamic Revolution, the government and people of Iran. He considered this criminal act to be the result of the terrible and one after-another failures of the criminal regime of Israel in the battle against Resistance in the region.

"We are confident that with the dignified and authoritative directives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic resistance will gain a decisive final victory," he added.

Expressing gratitude for the unwavering and continuous support of the Islamic Republic of Iran for efforts to establish lasting peace and stability in Iraq, the Iraqi Prime Minister further emphasized his country's government's interest in strengthening Tehran-Baghdad strategic relations and cooperation.

President Raeisi, for his part, hailed the shared stance adopted by Iran and Iraq against the usurping Zionist regime in support of the oppressed Palestinian nation, stressing the need for all Islamic countries to adopt such a shared stance.

He vowed that with the help of Allah, the Zionist regime would pay a price for its criminal action in attacking the Iranian Consulate in the Syrian capital. 

Stating that the Islamic Republic of Iran attaches special importance to bilateral and regional relations and cooperation with Iraq, the president expressed hope that with the resolve and through the will of the high-ranking officials of the two countries, relations between Tehran and Baghdad will be strengthened and developed more than before.

KI/6068968