Abdulaziz Altwaijri, ISESCO’s director general, expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy to the Iraqi and Iranian peoples and the victims’ families, beseeching Allah Almighty to "bestow His mercy on the martyrs of this incident and make Paradise their abode, and give their families forbearance and solace.”
Condolences poured in from heads of state and senior officials of various countries following the deadly tremor.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among world leaders who sympathized with the Iranian and Iraqi nations over the tragic event.
The powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the border region between Iran and Iraq, killing about 450 people, almost all of them in Iran.
The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at around 09:18 pm local time on Sunday, was 32 kilometers south of the Iraqi city of Halabja, in Iraqi Kurdistan, and just across the border from Iran.
But the highest casualties occurred in the town of Sarpol-e Zahab, in Iran’s Kermanshah Province.
According to official tallies, 445 Iranians were confirmed dead as of Monday afternoon. Over 7,156 others were also injured.