Iran's iconic Milad Tower lights up with Turkish, Syrian flags in honor of quake victims

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iran’s iconic Milad Tower lit up in the colors of Turkish and Syrian flags on Monday evening as a mark of solidarity with the two neighboring countries over recent devastating earthquakes.

Pictures and videos showed the flags of Türkiye and Syria emblazoned across the facade of the multi-purpose tower in Tehran, the sixth tallest tower and the 17th tallest freestanding structure in the world.

Tehran Municipality, which operates the iconic tower, also displayed a message of condolence to the people and governments of the two neighboring countries.

The 7.7- and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria on February 6, followed by several high-intensity after-shocks, killed more than 46,000 people.

Many countries have in the past few weeks rushed with humanitarian aid and assistance to the quake-affected people, including Iran, whose Red Crescent volunteers have been present in both countries.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in his speech during a public rally to mark the 44th anniversary of the 1979 revolution last week reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to helping the quake-affected people.

During his visit to one of the camps housing displaced people in Adiyaman city, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu thanked Iranian volunteer teams for providing assistance to the quake victims.