Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, has expressed the Iranian nations deep sympathies and condolence following the recent floods and landslides in Japan, which left dozens of people dead and missing.

In a Sunday statement, Ghasemi offered sympathy to the Japanese nation and government, and the bereaved families of this natural disaster.

More than 70 people have died and dozens are missing as torrential rain hammered parts of Japan for a third day on Sunday, with the prime minister, Shinzo Abe warning that rescue workers faced a “race against time”.

The heaviest rainfall Japan has seen in decades has caused widespread flooding and landslides, with reports of cars being swept away by floodwater and people taking refuge on the roofs of their inundated homes.