President Rouhani Condoles Death of Diplomat in Beirut Explosions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – In a message on the death of Iranian cultural attache in Beirut Ebrahim Ansari, President Hassan Rouhani sympathized with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian nation, and family members of the slain diplomat.
“He achieved the exalted position of martyrdom while serving at the stronghold of elevating the genuine Islamic-Iranian cultures and sciences, which deeply saddened and depressed us,” President Rouhani said in his message.
On Tuesday morning, twin explosions occurred around Iran's embassy in Beirut, killing at least 23 people and injuring some 150 others. The Iranian cultural attache was wounded in the blasts but later succumbed to his extensive injuries in a hospital in Beirut.
Lebanese television station MTV said the blasts took place two minutes apart, with one man on foot detonating an explosive vest, and the second explosion caused by a car bomb. The security official confirmed one of the blasts was a suspected car bomb.
The Iranian embassy is located on a residential street, with apartment blocks and shops nearby.
Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al-Qaeda-linked group, has claimed responsibility for the twin blasts.
The main gate to the embassy was blown out and there was damage to the three-storey building, but the embassy's well-fortified building itself suffered relatively minor damage.
In Beirut, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, declared a state of mourning in tribute of the fallen victims of the heinous terrorist crime that rattled Beirut's Jnah region on Tuesday.
Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the "appalling” bombings outside the Iranian Embassy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, calling for the punishment of those behind the terrorist attacks.
Many countries across the world have condemned the deadly bomb attacks in Beirut.
The state news agency (NNA) reported that work will stop on Thursday, November 21, 2013, for one hour, from 11.00 am till 12.00 pm, across Lebanon.
Radio and TV regular programs would also be amended during this set time (one hour), in line with this painful tragedy.
The Lebanese are also requested to stand a minute of silence, wherever they are, at exactly 12.00 pm, as a comprehensive, national Lebanese expression of solidarity with the families of the victims, the NNA reported.
