KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu will represent Malaysia at the funeral of President Ebrahim Raisi.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim informed this after he had contacted Iran’s interim president Mohammad Mokhber today.

Anwar also expressed his condolences to the leader over the passing of Raisi and the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash on May 19.

"I informed that Malaysia will send a senior minister (Mohamad Sabu) to Iran to attend the funeral of the late President Raisi.

"I also recalled my two meetings with the late President Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian last year in New York and Riyadh, and I assured Mokhber that Malaysia will continue the commitments made to Iran under the late President’s leadership,” Anwar said in a Facebook post today.

On Sunday, Raisi’s helicopter crashed in the Varzaqan area while he was returning with Amirabdollahian and six others from a ceremony to inaugurate dams on the Iran-Azerbaijan border.

Following the tragedy, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei declared a five-day public mourning period and approved the appointment of Mokhber, who is also Iran’s vice-president, as the interim president.

Anwar said that during the phone conversation, Mokhber also expressed his gratitude to Malaysia for the condolences and sympathy, while stressing that both countries are strategic partners who highly value their political and economic relations.

"He also expressed his sorrow over the loss of two prominent figures in the tragic accident, noting that they left a very strong influence in Iran.

"At the end of the conversation, he assured that the good relations and cooperation with Malaysia will continue to be maintained and strengthened,” Anwar said. — Bernama