Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi spoke on the telephone with the head of the Libyan rebels’ National Transitional Council (NTC) and called for the return of Iran’s ambassador to Libya.
The Iranian ambassador left Libya in March to protest the Gaddafi regime’s crackdown on dissidents.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported today that Salehi congratulated Mustafa Abdul-Jalil on the “victory of the Libyan people’s revolution” and expressed a desire to expand relations.
Although Iran has sent humanitarian aid to the Libyan rebels, it has also condemned NATO’s intervention in Libya.
The head of the NTC reportedly welcomed the prospect of Iran’s ambassador returning to Tripoli, adding that the council is committed to solving the mystery around the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr.
An Iranian-born cleric, Moussa Sadr is considered a spiritual leader of Lebanon’s Shiites. Relations soured between Iran and Libya after Sadr disappeared on a trip to Libya in 1978.
There have been conflicting reports about Moussa Sadr. His daughter, Hoora Sadr, told the Iranian daily Etemad that there is strong evidence her father is still alive.
