Libyan FM condemns attack on Iranian embassy in Tripoli

The Foreign Ministry in the national salvation government condemned the attack on the Iranian embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli yesterday.

In a statement obtained by the Anadolu Agency, the ministry said that the incident aims to give a different image of what Tripoli is enjoying of security and stability as well as to obstruct the aspirations of the Libyan people, who seek to build a state of law and security.

The ministry stressed that the Libyan authorities will provide the needed protection to the embassies and diplomatic missions and will follow up with the relevant security authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Meanwhile, the Justice and Development Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm in Libya, condemned the attack and described it as a “criminal act which seeks to undermine security and stability in Tripoli and spoil Libya’s relationship with the international community in order to isolate it from the world”.

In a statement, the party called on the national salvation government through its security services to accelerate the development of plans to secure the capital and diplomatic missions’ headquarters to prevent a repeat of the assault.

It also called on the Libyan people to be united in lifting the country out of its current crisis.

Earlier in the day, fighters linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack against the Iranian embassy in Tripoli.

Twitter accounts thought to be linked to the group published images of the embassy’s bombing in the Ben Ashour district of central Tripoli.

Other images taken from close distance showed wreckage inside a garage in the ambassador’s house adjacent to the embassy.

Both buildings were empty at the time of the attacks; however the ambassador’s house was damaged.

The Iranian diplomatic mission left Libya in mid-2013 for security reasons.