Cuban President Signs Condolence Book in Honor of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, visited the headquarters of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Havana on Thursday midday to sign the Condolence Book opened in honor of Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

"We feel profound pain and sorrow upon learning of the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Iranian nation, as a consequence of the vile aggression by the United States and Israel," wrote the head of state, characterizing the act as a flagrant violation of all norms of international law and human dignity.

"We will remember him as the distinguished statesman and leader of the Iranian people, who made a decisive contribution to the development and consolidation of relations of friendship and cooperation between our countries."

"At this moment of deep sorrow," the president emphasized, "I convey the expressions of solidarity and the most heartfelt condolences of the Cuban people and Government, and extend them to his family, loved ones, and friends."

At the diplomatic mission in Havana, Díaz-Canel was received by Iranian Ambassador Zabihollah Naderi. He was accompanied during the brief tribute by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and the Director General of Bilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Miguel Pereira Hernández.

Following the attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran on February 28, the president wrote on his X account that the strikes constituted a flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, undermined for a second time diplomatic efforts related to the nuclear issue, and endangered regional and international peace and security.

More recently, on March 4, he also noted on X that "Cuba joins the international calls to immediately end the violation of international law resulting from the aggression of the U.S. and Israel against Iran and Lebanon — with political assassination operations and indiscriminate attacks that include the killing of children and have triggered the serious escalation currently unfolding in a turbulent Middle East, which, if not halted, will have unpredictable consequences for all peoples in the region, and for international peace, security, and stability."

He further advocated for respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations in the region, and for an end to acts causing harm to civilians and civil infrastructure in the Arab states of the Gulf, "with which we are united by bonds of friendship and cooperation."

"Cuba reaffirms its call to uphold the principle of good neighborliness, restraint, and dialogue at this delicate moment," he stressed.

Also signing the Condolence Book alongside the president were Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and the Director General of Bilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Miguel Pereira Hernández.