Turkmenistan sends humanitarian aid to neighboring Iran

Turkmenistan state media reports that four refrigerated trucks carrying medicine, medical supplies, clothing and food left the capital Ashgabat for Iran today.

The shipment, funded by a charitable foundation, was sent “to the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran, primarily children, as a sign of friendly and fraternal relations,” according to state media. It shows footage of a prayer being recited for the safe delivery of the supplies.

Officials says approximately 250 people from 16 countries have so far crossed into Turkmenistan, an isolated, gas-rich Central Asian nation, which shares a 1,148-kilometer (713-mile) border with Iran.

Turkmenistan maintains one of the strictest visa policies in the world. It provided safe passage to more than 4,000 foreign nationals from 52 countries during the Israel-Iran war last summer.