Iran Parliament Speaker Delivers Khamenei’s Letter for Putin to Duma Chairman

Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the 0arliament of Iran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. (State Duma)
Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the 0arliament of Iran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. (State Duma)
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Iran Parliament Speaker Delivers Khamenei’s Letter for Putin to Duma Chairman

Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the 0arliament of Iran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. (State Duma)
Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the 0arliament of Iran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. (State Duma)

Chairman of Russian’s State Duma Viacheslav Volodin received Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who delivered a letter from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to President Vladimir Putin.

The media office of the State Duma asserted the importance of the visit in terms of continued coordination between both states, adding that Volodin delivered the message to the Russian president.

Iranian ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali said the Speaker's first visit to a foreign country since his appointment confirms the importance Tehran attaches to ties with Moscow, adding that bilateral relations are constantly being developed in various fields.

Jalali indicated that Qalibaf's visit will certainly boost coordination with Tehran in various areas.

Before his meeting with Volodin, Qalibaf called for consolidating the relations between the two countries, noting that they share many common factors in bilateral, regional and international fields.

He explained that one of the most important goals of his visit is to reassure officials that ties between Tehran and Moscow will not be affected by global developments.

Prior to the visit, Iranian media reported that the Russian authorities wanted the speaker to first self-isolate for 15 days before meeting Putin, which Qalibaf rejected.

However, a Russian diplomat said that the visit was successfully organized by the two parties, noting that the protocol requires that the speaker be received by the Duma chairman.

Khamenei “has always underlined our strategic relations with Russia…. One of the outstanding aspects of this visit is that I’m carrying an important message about strategic issues,” Qalibaf said, without elaborating.

In Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said it was regrettable the way some dealt with such an important visit of by the speaker who was conveying a message from the supreme leader.

Khatibzadeh denied any prior agreement to meet Putin, saying the president has special protocols in place for foreign receptions given the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the conservative Islami Jamhoori newspaper criticized Qalibaf for visiting Russia despite Putin's refusal to receive him, deeming the president’s behavior “an insult to Iran and the republic's regime.”

The newspaper argued in its editorial that Putin was upset with Iranian officials because of their view of the West, stressing that his refusal to receive Qalibaf, even though he was conveying a message from Khamenei, is definitely an offense to Iran and the regime.

Aftab Yazd newspaper stated that Putin’s behavior must not be forgotten, defending Qalibaf as the speaker of parliament, which represents the Iranian people.



Crowds File into St. Peter’s on Last Day to Pay Respects to Pope Francis

Visitors queue to enter the Vatican and pay their respects to the late Pope, next to the colonnade and a Carabineri officer (R), with St. Peter's Basilica viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Visitors queue to enter the Vatican and pay their respects to the late Pope, next to the colonnade and a Carabineri officer (R), with St. Peter's Basilica viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Crowds File into St. Peter’s on Last Day to Pay Respects to Pope Francis

Visitors queue to enter the Vatican and pay their respects to the late Pope, next to the colonnade and a Carabineri officer (R), with St. Peter's Basilica viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Visitors queue to enter the Vatican and pay their respects to the late Pope, next to the colonnade and a Carabineri officer (R), with St. Peter's Basilica viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of mourners filed into St. Peter's Basilica on Friday on the last day to pay final respects to Pope Francis ahead of his funeral on Saturday.

Long queues snaked around St. Peter's Square and the surrounding roads, before being funneled through the heart of the basilica in a single column leading to the central altar, where Francis' open coffin was displayed on a dais.

The basilica was open for most of Thursday evening into Friday morning, shutting its doors for only three hours overnight.

The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died on Monday in his rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse after suffering a stroke, was brought to St. Peter's in a solemn procession on Wednesday.

Since then, about 150,000 people from all over the world have bid farewell to the pontiff, the Vatican said.

"It's a very strong feeling (to be here)," said Patricio Castriota, a visitor who, like the pope, is from Argentina. "This farewell was very sad, but I thank God that I was able to see him".

"He's the only pope we've had who came from South America, a pope who had many good intentions for the Catholic Church," said Castriota. "He cleaned up (a lot) of the bad, maybe not all of it, but he tried."

Francis, who became pope in 2013, was the first pontiff from the Western hemisphere and was known for an unusually charming, and even humorous, demeanor.

His 12-year papacy was sometimes turbulent, with Francis seeking to overhaul a divided institution but battling with traditionalists who opposed his many changes.

"He humanized the church, without desacralizing it," said Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who leads the Church on the French island of Corsica.

Queues on Friday morning were stretching halfway down the main boulevard leading through Rome into the Vatican.

People were pressing forward slowly, some waiting hours, in order to have a few minutes inside to pay their respects to Francis.

Vatican officials plan to end viewings at 7 p.m. on Friday, ahead of a formal rite to seal the late pope's coffin. The Vatican said it would close access to the line to enter the basilica about an hour earlier at around 6 p.m.

ROME PREPARES FOR FUNERAL

A conclave to choose a new pontiff is unlikely to start before May 6. In the meantime, the world's Catholic cardinals have assumed temporary control of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinals present in Rome are convening almost daily, primarily to discuss logistical matters, in what is called a "general congregation".

149 of the world's 252 cardinals were present for the meeting on Friday morning, the Vatican said, with dozens more expected to arrive through the rest of the day.

Francis' coffin will be sealed in a private ceremony on Friday evening led by eight Catholic cardinals, including a US prelate who has faced criticism over his handling of sexual abuse cases.

Among those also present will be the late pope's secretaries.

Rome is preparing for the arrival of dozens of world leaders attending Saturday's funeral, including US President Donald Trump and 10 reigning monarchs.

There had been speculation that foreign leaders might have diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of the funeral to discuss the war in Ukraine, but the Elysee Palace said on Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron would not host any such meetings.

Trump was due to spend only about 15 hours in Rome, arriving late on Friday evening and leaving directly after the funeral.

Authorities have started ramping up security ahead of the ceremony, with snipers on rooftops, drones watching from the sky and an army device readied to neutralize hostile flying objects.

The heart of Rome is expected to be closed to traffic on Saturday to allow a funeral motorcade carrying the pope's remains to make its way slowly to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), where Francis, in a break from tradition, asked to be buried instead of St. Peter's Basilica.

Crowds are expected to gather along the route, which will pass by many of Rome's famed monuments, including the Colosseum.

The pope's tomb will be in a niche in a side aisle of the basilica, with just the word "Franciscus", his name in Latin, engraved on the marble.