TEHRAN, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visited the quake-hit region in northwestern Iran on Thursday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
After his arrival in Tabriz, the provincial capital of East Azerbaijan province, Khamenei paid a visit to one of the quake-hit villages in the region, said the report.
The Iranian supreme leader said the objective of his trip to East Azerbaijan is to sympathize with the victims of the quake, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
A 6.2-magnitude temblor, with a depth of 10 km, hit Ahar in East Azerbaijan at 4:53 p.m. local time (1223 GMT) Saturday, while another 6-magnitude earthquake, also with a depth of 10 km, struck nearby Varzaqan at 5:04 p.m. local time (1234 GMT), according to Iranian Seismological Center.
Iranian Health Minster Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi said Monday the death toll from Saturday's earthquakes had risen to 306, with more than 3,000 people injured and over 300 villages damaged or destroyed.
Local media reported that over 4,500 people have been injured in the earthquakes.
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