US ready to help quake-hit Iran

The White House announced the United States readiness to offer assistance to Iran following the devastating two earthquakes that killed at least 300 people. "The American people send the Iranian people our deepest condolences for the loss of life in the tragic earthquake" in northwestern Iran, White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement last night. "Our thoughts are with the families of those who were lost, and we wish the wounded a speedy recovery," he said, adding "we stand ready to offer assistance in this difficult time." More than 300 people are feared to be dead and more than 2,000 injured in the twin earthquakes that struck Iran's Ahar region in East Azerbaijan and Varzaqan.