Leader of Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Khamanei offers condolences over quake victims

Leader of the Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Seyyed Ali Khamenei has offered condolences following a deadly earthquake that has killed at least 33 people near Iran’s southern city of Bushehr.

“With sorrow and sadness, I received news of the earthquake in Bushehr Province and the [ensuing] human casualties and damage,” Imam Khamenei said in a message on Tuesday.

The Leader called on provincial officials to “do their utmost” to save as many lives as possible and to provide enough support to the survivors of the quake.

A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the town of Kaki, some 90 kilometers southeast of Bushehr, at 4:22 pm local time (1152 GMT) on Tuesday at a depth of 12 kilometers, killing at least 33 people and leaving more than 850 injured.

The quake was followed by many aftershocks which jolted Kaki and the nearby city of Khour-Mowj.

The Persian Gulf Arab states of Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also felt the shocks from the quake.

The Russian company that has constructed the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant said the quake has not affected the operations in the facility.

The governor of Bushehr told reporters that the power plant has not been damaged in the quake.

The plant is located 18 km south of Bushehr and about 160 kilometers away from the quake-stricken region.

Iran, which sits astride several fault lines, is prone to frequent earthquakes.