Türkiye's VP Yilmaz meets Iran's Pezeshkian in Tehran

Türkiye's Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday at Saadabad Palace in Tehran, where he attended ceremonies for the country's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and conveyed Ankara's condolences over the deaths caused by US-Israeli attacks. Yilmaz traveled to the Iranian capital to participate in state funeral ceremonies for Khamenei, who was killed in late February during the war between Washington, Tel Aviv and Tehran. In a statement posted on the Türkiye's social media platform NSosyal, Yilmaz said Türkiye “deeply shares the pain” suffered by the “brotherly Iranian people” in the recent period.

Commitment to regional stability

“As Türkiye, we will continue contributing to efforts to make peace and stability permanent in our region, strengthen channels of dialogue, and support the normalization process after the war,” Yilmaz said. The vice president emphasized that Ankara would maintain cooperation with Iranian counterparts to further develop bilateral relations across all sectors, particularly in economy, trade, energy, and transportation. He thanked President Pezeshkian for receiving him and extended condolences to the Iranian state and people on behalf of Türkiye.

Funeral ceremonies

“I pray for Allah’s mercy on all our Iranian brothers who lost their lives, particularly Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and once again extend patience and condolences to the Iranian state and the friendly and brotherly people of Iran,” Yilmaz said. State funeral ceremonies for the late supreme leader are taking place from July 3-9 in several cities across Iran, drawing regional leaders and dignitaries to pay their respects. More than 3,300 people have been killed in Iran since the war began on Feb. 28.