Iran Ready to Dispatch Quake Relief Aid to Syria’s Idlib
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian expressed the country’s readiness to send humanitarian aid teams to Idlib in Syria following a devastating earthquake that has killed thousands of people.
In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Amirabdollahian and new President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger talked about the efforts to send relief aid to quake-hit people in Turkey and Syria.
Reiterating Iran’s readiness to help the people affected by earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Amirabdollahian said Iran has taken various measures to assist those who suffered losses as a result of the natural disaster.
Iran’s measures include dispatching rescue teams to Turkey and Syria and announcing readiness to treat the wounded in the Iranian hospitals, he added, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
Amirabdollahian described the humanitarian situation in Syria as difficult and stressed the need for the international organizations to pay attention to the special situation in the Arab country.
Because of the anti-Syrian sanctions, he said, the situation of the Syrian people has further deteriorated following the quake.
Amirabdollahian also noted that the humanitarian situation in Syria’s Idlib province is critical and the number of deaths and injuries is high.
He then stated that Tehran is ready to immediately send relief teams along with humanitarian aid to Idlib, calling on the ICRC to make the necessary coordination with Iran’s Red Crescent Society for the purpose of sending and distributing the aid in Idlib which is out of the control of the Syrian government.
Egger, for her part, thanked Iran for its humanitarian efforts and measures in the quake-struck zones.
She said the ICRC will take drastic measures in Syria and, after assessing the situation, will make the necessary coordination with Iran regarding its valuable proposals and the ways to implement them.
Egger also stressed the need for the ICRC to continue contacts and interaction with the Iranian institutions.
The death toll from the Turkey-Syria earthquakes has passed 21,000. At least 17,674 people have been killed in Turkey, according to Vice President Fuat Oktay, while at least 3,377 are known to have died in Syria.