Tasnim - Mayors of Iran�s major cities offered condolences to the mayor of Beirut over a huge blast that killed scores of people in the Lebanese capital on August 4 and displaced as many as 300,000 citizens.

In a letter from the Assembly of Mayors of Iranian Metropolises sent on Friday, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi and 17 other mayors of Iran�s big cities expressed their sincere condolences to Jamal Itani, the mayor of Beirut.

The Iranian mayors said the tragic incident in Beirut had �caused deep grief and sorrow.�

�Hereby, we, the mayors of the metropolises of Iran, express our deepest condolences and sympathy to the dear and bereaved people of Lebanon and all those affected by the tragic blast, and wish a speedy recovery for the injured,� the letter said.

The Iranian mayors also expressed their full readiness to help the citizens and the municipality of Beirut return to normal conditions, Press TV reported.

They also underlined the need for boosting unity and empathy among regional countries as the only way to maintain peace and tranquility.

�The municipalities of Iran�s metropolises will stand by the citizens and officials of Beirut,� the Iranian mayors concluded.

Tuesday�s massive explosion in Beirut�s port has killed at least 157 people, injured 5,000, and displaced 300,000 citizens.

Officials linked the blast to hundreds of tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate that were being stored in a warehouse at the port for six years.

The explosion has also destroyed Lebanon�s silos that contain the national grain reserve. Lebanon imports up to 80 percent of its food needs and is particularly reliant on imported soft wheat to make Arabic flatbread. About 85 per cent of the country's cereals were reportedly stored in the facility.