Riyad al-Maliki met with Iran’s newly appointed First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri in Tehran on Monday to deliver congratulations on behalf of Abbas to the new Pesident Hassan Rohani.

Maliki updated the Iranian official on Israeli regime's "ongoing violations in Palestine, and particularly in al-Quds’ Temple Mount."

Israeli extremists had set fire to mosques and houses as settlement expansion continued across the occupied West Bank, Maliki said.

In February, Abbas expressed his appreciation to Iran for supporting his country’s recognition as a non-member observer state in the United Nations.

Jahangiri thanked the Palestinian Authority for attending Rohani's inauguration ceremony and vowed that Iran would continue to support the Palestinian people as well as Abbas’ efforts to end rivalry between Fatah and Hamas.

The Iranian official told Maliki that he hoped that "through their wise resistance to Israeli aggression, the Palestinian nation would soon regain their denied rights."

Jahangiri added that he hoped future membership in the UN would alleviate the Palestinians' sufferings.

Jahangiri, a former minister of industries and mines and governor of Isfahan Province, was appointed to his post on Monday.

NTJ/BA