Putin: Russia ready to help Iran deal with quake aftermath

Russia is ready to offer assistance to Iran over quake aftermath, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.Putin extended condolences to his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the loss of lives caused by a powerful earthquake on Tuesday, the Kremlin press service said, Xinhua reported.\"Russia shares the pain and the grief of those who lost their loved ones, and expresses wishes for a speedy recovery of the injured people,\" Putin said.Russia is prepared to help Iranian people in overcoming the aftermath of the disaster, he said.The powerful earthquake, measuring 7.6 magnitude on the Richter scale, hit Southeastern Iran on Tuesday. The epicenter of the quake was some 50 km from the Pakistani border.