Iran expresses ‘sympathy’ over Las Vegas massacre

Foreign Ministry in Tehran offers condolences to families of those killed in ‘heinous’ shooting

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi (YouTube screenshot)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi (YouTube screenshot)

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.

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.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced his comment as “repugnant.”

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