Tehran welcomes Pakistan aid following deadly quake

By Murat Karadag

ANKARA

Tehran is set to receive a first shipment of humanitarian relief from Pakistan, six days after Iran was rocked by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that left hundreds of people dead.

Iran’s Mizan News Agency quoted officials from the Iranian Red Crescent as saying that the Pakistani aid was expected to arrive at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Friday evening.

In the immediate wake of last Saturday’s quake, Iranian officials had initially declined foreign offers to help.

In a Tuesday tweet, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif thanked all the countries that had offered assistance but said Iran would deal with the disaster “for now” using its own resources.

According to official Iranian sources, the quake’s epicenter was located 32 kilometers (roughly 20 miles) southwest of the Iraqi city of Halabja and 103 kilometers (roughly 64 miles) southeast of Sulaymaniyah.

Iran's IRNA state news agency put the death toll from the quake at about 430, with most casualties reported in Iran’s Kermanshah province.

An estimated 9,000 others were reportedly injured.

Iranian officials say more than 500 villages had sustained significant damage, rendering tens of thousands of people homeless.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara