ISTANBUL 

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani congratulated Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday on his selection as Iran’s new supreme leader.

Mojtaba was declared successor of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike last week.

“We express our confidence in the ability of the new leadership in the Islamic Republic of Iran to manage this sensitive stage, and continue to strengthen the unity of the Iranian people in facing the current challenges,” Sudani said in a statement.

He reaffirmed Iraq’s solidarity and support for Iran and “all steps aimed at ending the conflict and rejecting military operations against its sovereignty, in order to preserve the stability of other countries in the region and the security and safety of the peoples of the region.”

More than 1,200 people have been killed and over 10,000 others injured in US and Israeli attacks on Iran since Feb. 28, according to Iranian authorities.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.