NAM Deplores Terrorist Attacks on Iranian Embassy in Lebanon

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) strongly condemned the Tuesday terrorist bombings in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, and called for bringing the criminals behind the attacks to justice.
The 120-member organization, which is currently chaired by Iran, offered condolences to the families of the victims and expressed sympathy with those injured in the deadly attacks, which occurred on Tuesday.

NAM also called for the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks to be brought to justice and reaffirmed the need to combat terrorism by all means, in accordance with the UN Charter and international law.

In separate messages, several world leaders deplored the Tuesday terrorist attacks on the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

Syria, the Palestinian Hamas government and the Gaza government were among the first foreign parties to send their condolences to Iran.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, in a phone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday, expressed his regret over the terrorist attacks on the embassy.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman and Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, in separate messages, condemned the terrorist act, and condoled with the Iranian nation and government on the death of seven embassy staff in the incident. They pledged to pursue the case to identify criminals behind the bombings.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, in a message of condolences to the Iranian nation, also condemned the Tuesday attack on the embassy.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that the organization strongly condemns all forms of terrorism and extremism, including Beirut embassy attacks.

US Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale condemned any form of terrorist acts in Lebanon, including bombings near the Iranian embassy in Beirut, and called for required investigation into the attacks.

Indonesian Parliament Speaker Mazrouqi Ali, who is paying an official visit to Tehran, also deplored the killing of the Iranian embassy staff in Beirut.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, in a statement, strongly condemned the terrorist bombings outside the Iranian mission.

Lebanon’s Ambassador to Tehran Fadi Haj Ali was at the Iranian parliament this morning to inform the MPs about the details of the attack, which he condemned as an inhuman move.

The attack targeted just 10 meters away from Iranian embassy in Beirut’s Southern neighborhood of Jinah, inflicting much damage to the compound.

The main gate of the Iranian Embassy was blown out by the first explosion, and the second blast happened just meters away from the embassy.

A Lebanese government source said Ansari was entering the embassy as the blasts took place, adding that the Iranian official died of his wounds at a Beirut hospital.

Head of the Iranian Embassy’s security team and five of his men have also been among more than two dozen people killed in the twin blasts which struck an area near the embassy compound in Beirut Tuesday morning.

“Rezwan Fares, a Lebanese national who was in charge of the security of the Iranian embassy in Beirut and was also known as Haj Reza, and the Ambassador’s personal bodyguard stopped the suicide-bomber from entering the embassy compound and opened fire on him, when the suicide-bomber exploded his jacket,” local officials told FNA’s bureau in Beirut Tuesday afternoon.

“Five of the embassy guards were also killed in the blasts today,” the report added.

Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Qazanfar Roknabadi also said that Zionists have been behind the bombing.

Roknabadi said none of the embassy staffers has been harmed in the attack, but he confirmed the death of Ansari.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati described the bombings as “a cowardly terrorist act”.

Miqati was quoted by Lebanese NNA news agency as saying that the aim of the attacks was to “stir-up the situation in Lebanon”.

“We have asked the security apparatuses to speed up the investigations to uncover and arrest the perpetrators.”

Also, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Marziyeh Afkham strongly condemned the attack as “an inhuman action”, and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran takes the Zionists and their mercenaries responsible for this action.”

Afkham said since the attack targeted an area in the vicinity of the Iranian Embassy compound in Beirut, Tehran will pursue the incident.

Senior parliamentary officials said Tuesday evening that the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian legislature is due to convene in the coming days to discuss the Tuesday’s twin bomb blasts.

Rapporteur of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Naqavi Hosseini condemned the attack as “blind terror” by “terrorists affiliated to the global arrogance”.

He told FNA that his commission would study and pursue the terrorist blast in front of the Iranian embassy in Lebanon, adding that the commission is already gathering information about the incident.

Also, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani strongly condemned the twin bomb blasts in Beirut, and reiterated that such terrorist acts can no way undermine Tehran’s support for the Islamic resistance movement in Lebanon.