Iran's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani says that the strengthening of relations between Iran and Cuba is beneficial for independent countries and could contribute to multilateralism.

According to The Iran Project, Bagheri Kani made the remarks in a meeting with Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta, Special Envoy of the President of Cuba, in Tehran on Sunday.

During the meeting, Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta offered sincere condolences to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and the Iranian nation over the tragic passing of the late Iranian president Ebrahim Raeisi and the country's late Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash.

He stressed that the Iranian government and people will successfully pass this critical era.

Calling Iran the closest friend of Cuba in the West Asia region, he called for expanding and deepening relations between the two countries in all fields, especially in the field of economy.

Bagheri Kani, for his part, appreciated the visit of the special envoy of the Cuban president to Tehran, describing this trip and the messages of sympathy and condolence as consoling in this difficult situation.

With the support of the people, Iran has always overcome such hardships and turned threats and challenges into opportunities, he added.

Saying that strengthening relations between Tehran and Havana is beneficial for the independent countries and can contribute to multilateralism, he expressed hope that by holding the new round of the joint economic commission of the two countries, Iran and Cuba would implement the agreements and memorandum of understandings reached by the presidents of the two states.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have martyred in a helicopter crash in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

The helicopter carrying President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province.

It was transporting Raeisi, Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, and a member of the president’s bodyguard team Mahdi Mousavi. The helicopter’s pilot, co-pilot, and crew were also among others on board the chopper.

President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

Following the tragic martyrdom of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei declared a 5-day mourning in Iran.

Millions of people participated in the farewell ceremonies that were held for martyrs in the cities of Tabriz, Qom, Birjand, Mashhad, and Tehran.