Iran condemns NATO strikes on Libya

A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official has condemned NATO’s deadly strikes on Libya, saying the attacks on the country are “killing innocent people and destroying the country’s economic infrastructure.”

Ali Ahani, in a meeting with the Serbian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy Darko Tanaskovic in Tehran on Tuesday, criticized NATO’s military intervention in Libya as a result of misinterpretation of the March 19 UN Security Council Resolution 1973, which calls for the protection of Libyan civilians against forces loyal to the country’s longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The Iranian diplomat also slammed West’s double standards regarding the popular uprisings in North Africa and the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian official further called for a modification in the structure of the United Nations with a more inclusive world management.

On the issue of Kosovo’s independence, Ahani stressed that the Islamic Republic’s stance “is based on principles of the international laws and the full observance of the rights of all the region’s residents, including Muslims.”

The Iranian official also highlighted his country’s willingness to promote bilateral cooperation with Serbia.

The Serb diplomat, for his part, relayed the Serbian foreign minister’s formal invitation for his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, to attend the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement scheduled to be held in later this year in Belgrade.

Tanaskovic also hailed the bilateral relations between the two countries and called for Iran’s support over the issue of Kosovo.

In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia — the second such declaration by Kosovo’s Albanian-majority political institutions, following the one in late 1990.

Serbia sought international validation and support for its stance that the declaration was illegal.

The International Court of Justice ruled that the US-backed declaration was not illegal but not an official act either.