A senior Iranian lawmaker says Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is planning a visit to Myanmar in the coming months following the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in the Southeast Asian country

A senior Iranian lawmaker says Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is planning a visit to Myanmar in the coming months following the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in the Southeast Asian country.

Sayyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said on Monday that Iran has no embassy or consulate in Myanmar and one of the objectives of the upcoming visit is to establish a diplomatic contact channel with Naypyidaw.

Referring to the recent wave of violence against the Rohingya Muslims, Naqavi said, “The continuation of the atrocities in Myanmar is a source of regret, but even more regrettable is the silence of international and human rights’ bodies that show no reaction to these crimes.”

“It is a wonder how the organizations that issue resolutions and human rights’ reports against the Islamic Republic on a daily basis do not see Myanmar’s atrocities and do not show any reaction,” the Iranian lawmaker added.

Myanmar’s Vice Chairman of the Muslim National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD) Hla Thein said on Friday that more than 100 Rohingya Muslims had been killed in a recent wave of sectarian violence in the country’s western state of Rakhine.

Tensions have heightened across Rakhine, forcing Muslims to flee to emergency camps located in the state’s capital Sittwe.

The Buddhist-majority government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas and has classified them as illegal migrants, even though the Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origins, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.