Iran voices sadness over church incidents in Nigeria, Egypt

TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (MNA) – Iran has voiced deep sadness over the church collapse in a Nigerian city and a terrorist bombing in a church in Cairo, killing as many as 100 worshipers ahead of Christian New Year. A crowded church in the Nigerian city of Uyo collapsed during services on Saturday, killing as many as 160 worshipers and injuring many others. The governor himself was at the church when it collapsed and narrowly escaped injury. The Reigners Bible Church International was still under construction and workers had been rushing to finish it in time for Saturday's ceremony. Iran’s Foreign Minister Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi expressed his deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of victims, saying “the fact that the incident occurred ahead of Christian New Year has doubled the pain and suffering of the victims’ families. I pray that Almighty God will grant them patience and peace of mind.” In another development on Sunday, a terrorist bombing at Cairo's largest Coptic cathedral left at least 25 people dead and wounded 50. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The Iranian diplomat strongly condemned the attack and extended his condolences to the families of victims. “Targeting religious sites and places of worship is against the principles of all religions and is highly despicable and strongly condemnable,” Ghasemi stressed. He went on to add, “the murderous and anarchist terrorists carried out this cowardly attack against the Christians on the eve of the New Year to demonstrate once again that today’s rampant terrorism knows no borders, nationalities or religions, and all nations, ethnic and religious groups regardless of their differences, need to unite to combat it.”