Lebanese Officials Condemn Iranian Embassy Attack, Call for Self-Restraint

Lebanese officials denounced on Tuesday the twin blast that took place in the neighborhood of Bir Hassan in Beirut's southern suburbs, which killed at least 23 people and injured more than 145.

Speaker Nabih Berri denounced the attack, pointing out that "the terrorist attack is a clear attempt to create a rift among the Lebanese.

"It's a conspiracy against the Lebanese," he added.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati condemned the “terrorist and coward” attack, considering that it aims at creating further tension in Lebanon and “use the country as a mailbox.”

He called on all sides to exercise self-restraint amid the current stage that the country is passing through.

Miqati also called on security forces to swiftly to unveil those who are behind the explosions and detain them.

The PM contacted security agencies leaders, who briefed him on the situation, and also contacted the Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Rokn Abadi.

Miqati delegated caretaker Information Minister Walid Daouq to the blasts site, who in his turn denounced the attack, offering “condolences to the relatives of the victims.”

He later headed a meeting for the National Disaster Operation Center at the Grand Serail to weigh the repercussions of the twin blasts.

Miqati tasked the Higher Relief Council to provide substitute homes for those whose homes were damaged due to the blasts swiftly and to pay them compensations soon after the Social Affairs Ministry issues its report on the damage caused by the explosions.

PM-designate Tammam Salam condemned the attack, saying that "the best response to the evil scheme is to be patient and fortify our unity."

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri said that “the blasts should become a new impetus to steer Lebanon clear of the fires in the region.”

For his part, Caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil called on all hospitals in Beirut to open their doors to receive people injured in the explosions.

Later on, Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel said that “assaulting any Lebanese area targets on the whole nation with all its components.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea offered his condolences to the families of the victims, saying that the “criminal incident and those that preceded it in other regions, compel us more than ever to call for distancing Lebanon from the developments in the region.”

For his part, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said that "this level of cruelty indicates what the future will hold for us if they reached power."

Hizbullah MP Ali Ammar told reporters that the “the targeted in this explosion is the resistance axis that supports the Palestinian cause.”

Head of al-Mustaqbal Parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora denounced the attack, saying that "those who are behind the terrorist attack should be unveiled and penalized."

The March 14 General Secretariat later condemned with the strongest terms the Bir Hassan blasts, voicing its humanitarian and moral solidarity with the families of the victims.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah official Rabih Dandashli also denounced the explosions and targeting of civilians.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani denounced the attack, describing it as a “terrorist act.”

He considered that criminals insist on “destabilizing security in Lebanon,” expressing fear that the terrorist acts aim at inciting sedition between Sunnis and Shiites.

Qabbani also contacted the Iranian ambassador.

Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan condemned the twin blasts, calling on officials to put an for the political rift and to swiftly form a new cabinet.

For his part, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat stressed that the "highest levels of national solidarity and rationality are required today more than ever," and urged the Lebanese to "immediately go back to dialogue at least in seeking to regulate disputes."

Hizbullah, which is fighting alongside the regime of President Bashar Assad in war-hit Syria, has seen its strongholds in southern Beirut targeted twice by car bombs this year.

The blasts, on July 9 and August 15, killed 27 people.

Tensions in Lebanon over the 32-month-old conflict in Syria have been rising, with Hizbullah's involvement criticized by many Sunni Lebanese who back the Sunni-dominated uprising against Assad.