Tehran, Sept 24, IRNA � Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended his condolences to the families of the victims of the stampede incidents of Mena rituals during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.

'This incident brought a wave of grief with itself concurrent with the auspicious occasion of Eid al-Adha in Muslim countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran,' Zarif said in his message addressed to the families of deceased Iranian Hajj pilgrims on Thursday.

He also sympathized with the victims of other Muslim countries, and said, 'In addition to formation of a special headquarters at the foreign ministry, I have started intensive political contacts from New York to expedite the identification of the victims and immediate treatment of the injured people.'

By IRNA