2006/179

SECRETARY-GENERAL MOURNS VICTIMS

OF IRAN PLANE CRASH

TEHRAN, 2 September 2006 (UNIC) - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who heads to Iran today on an official visit, on Friday voiced sadness at the plane crash in Mashhad that reportedly killed scores of people.

“On the eve of his visit to the country, the Secretary-General’s thoughts are with the families of the victims of this tragedy,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters in New York.

Mr. Annan will head from Qatar to Iran, where he will hold talks over the weekend as part of a regional tour that has taken him across Middle East.

He is expected to meet the country’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as the Foreign Minister and several other officials, Mr. Dujarric said.

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