Hawzah News Agency - Ayatollah Arafi, head of Iran’s seminary, conveyed the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei’s message to Pope Francis in a meeting with the Catholic Christian leader on Tuesday, June 1 in the Vatican.

During the meeting Ayatollah Arafi said, “The Supreme Leader of Iranian Islamic Revolution sends you his regards and he praises your background and affiliation with Latin America. Ayatollah Khamenei also supports some of the stances you have taken to promote interfaith relations between Islam and Christianity as well as defending the oppressed people."

" We expect you to continue to work towards supporting the oppressed people of the world, especially people of Palestine and Yemen; we also ask you to have a clear and transparent position on worldly issues." The Shia scholar quoted Ayatollah Khamenei.

Ayatollah Arafi further noted, "The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution expects action to be taken in defense of the Palestinian people and he believes that the solution of Palestinian issue should be decided based on the votes of Palestinian people in free elections attended by all the native people of Palestine, including followers of all religions."

At the end of the meeting, Pope Francis expressed his regards for the Leader of Islamic Revolution as well as the religious authorities and scholars of Iran. The leader of Catholic Church also voiced his agreement with Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks and appreciated his message.

Iran and the Vatican established full diplomatic ties in 1954 and the bond has remained uninterrupted ever since. Not many reflect on the fact that the Vatican and Iran both represent spiritual traditions that have much more in common than might initially come to mind.