TEHRAN — Iran on Tuesday expressed its sympathy toward the United States following the shooting deaths of at least 59 people and wounding of more than 500 at a Las Vegas concert.
“Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi has offered sympathy to the bereaved families of those killed in the recent deadly shooting in Las Vegas,” said a statement published on the ministry’s website.
Qassemi expressed regret over the “heinous” crime in which hundreds of civilians were killed and wounded.
“He also sympathized with the US nation and the relatives of the victims,” the statement said.
Retired accountant Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, carried out the deadliest mass shooting in US history at Sunday night’s open-air concert.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
People run from a country music festival after a man opened fire on the concert on October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (David Becker/Getty Images/AFP)
The toll from the attack on Tuesday reached 59 dead and 527 wounded.
Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic relations for the past 37 years, and the arrival in January in the White House of US President Donald Trump has served to boost tensions.
After a double attack in June claimed by the Islamic state group that killed 17 people in Tehran, Trump said that the US “underscore[s] that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.”
Advertisement
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced his comment as “repugnant.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
