Iran Voices Serious Concern over Situation in Libya

(FNA)- The Iranian foreign ministry on Wednesday expressed deep and serious concern over the situation in Libya, and underlined the necessity for the establishment of a national government in the North African country.

"We are worried that this (Libya's) issue be promoted to an all-inclusive and international level, since experience of (international) action against the terrorist and Takfiri forces hasn’t been a positive one many mistakes have unfortunately been committed in this regard, and there are similar serious concerns that this happens with regard to Libya as well," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham told reporters in Tehran today.

"We hope that all related parties assist with the formation of a national government in Libya so as to decide the country's future path through relying on its own power and the power of those groups which are inside Libya and want protection of the country's territorial integrity," she added.

^{_{Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham}}

Afkham also underscored that in fighting terrorist groups, the interests of the regional states should be considered and previous mistakes should be avoided.

With no effective government since the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011, Libya has largely disintegrated into a patchwork of fiefs controlled by local or ideological militias. Over the past year, those militias have picked sides with one of the two warring coalitions.

Libya Dawn includes moderate and extremist Islamists. The other coalition, calling itself Operation Dignity and vowing to eradicate the Islamists, includes former Qaddafi soldiers as well as fighters from Zintan, a powerful Western mountain town. That faction has the support of Libya’s internationally recognized government, which is under Operation Dignity’s protection.

Operation Dignity’s main advantage in the fight has been the use of a small air force of helicopters and Russian-made fighter planes left over from Colonel Qaddafi’s military, which its officers have said the Egyptian military helped to repair and maintain. Operation Dignity has used the force to strike armed opponents and occasionally their civilian neighborhoods.

Meantime, pro-ISIL militants are active in the country and in a latest move they beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians, who had gone to Libya in search of work, this weekend. The Egyptian nationals were marched to a beach, forced to kneel and then beheaded on video, which was broadcast on Sunday via a website that supports the ISIL.

On Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry strongly deplored the beheading of Egyptian Coptic Christians by ISIL.

Both Afkham and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the crime immediately.

"By hurting religious, ethnic and tribal sentiments, the perpetrators of such tragic acts are pursuing ominous goals which serve the interests of the Zionist regime through damaging the relationship among the followers of the great divine religions and destroying ties among the Muslim states," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said in a statement on Monday.

She further underlined the necessity and vital importance of full vigilance at all levels against the plots and suspicious moves and the dangerous consequences of the growth of extremism and terrorism in the region.

Afkham also extended her condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and the Egyptian nation and government.

Then on Tuesday, President Rouhani strongly condemned the beheading of the Coptic Egyptians, describing the crime as savage, inhuman and against the rules of Islam.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran resolutely condemns this inhuman and savage act," President Rouhani said, addressing a meeting of the Cultural Revolution Supreme Council in Tehran yesterday.

The Iranian president extended his condolences to the bereaved families of the victims of the tragic incident, and deplored the brutal killing of the Egyptian Coptic Christians as a savage, un-Islamic and inhuman act by ISIL.

 The Iranian president voiced his regret over the recent criminal acts of the terrorists in the region, and said, "Unfortunately, these actions are done in the name of Islam and Muslims, while the terrorist and inhuman acts of these people are inconsistent with Islam."

President Rouhani said no vigilant conscience approves of these brutal measures and methods of the terrorists, specially considering that showing the videos of their crimes culminates hatred and violence even more.

"Those who initially supported these terrorists and funded them should apologize to the world nations and history for their (wrong) deeds, and those who most regretfully are still supporting these terrorists should give up their backing for the terrorists," he underscored.