Libya Announces Arrangements to Reopen Iranian Embassy in Tripoli

The Libyan and Iranian FMs meet in Tripoli. (Foreign ministry)
The Libyan and Iranian FMs meet in Tripoli. (Foreign ministry)
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Libya Announces Arrangements to Reopen Iranian Embassy in Tripoli

The Libyan and Iranian FMs meet in Tripoli. (Foreign ministry)
The Libyan and Iranian FMs meet in Tripoli. (Foreign ministry)

The Libyan Foreign and International Cooperation Ministry of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah’s interim Government of National Unity (GNU) announced on Sunday that efforts are underway to resume the work of the Iranian embassy in the capital, Tripoli.

Foreign and International Cooperation Minister Najla Al-Mangoush met with Iran's ambassador to Libya, Mohamed Reza, to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations.

On its Facebook page, the Ministry wrote that Al-Mangoush tackled with Reza the activation of the joint economic committee between their countries and arrangements for the reopening of the Iranian embassy in Tripoli.

The meeting tackled regional and international developments. Al-Magnoush said Libya welcomes the reestablishment of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, saying the agreement they reached last week will be significant for the stability of the region.

The Iranian embassy in Tripoli closed its doors in wake of the February 2011 revolution, following remarks by former mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani who accused Tehran of “spreading Shiism in Libya.”

In February 2015, the residence of the Iranian ambassador was attacked by a car bomb. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack that did not leave heavy damage.



Fishing Boat Carrying 283 Migrants Safely Reaches Greek Island

People visit the 43rd Thessaloniki Book Festival in Thessaloniki on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Sakis MITROLIDIS / AFP)
People visit the 43rd Thessaloniki Book Festival in Thessaloniki on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Sakis MITROLIDIS / AFP)
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Fishing Boat Carrying 283 Migrants Safely Reaches Greek Island

People visit the 43rd Thessaloniki Book Festival in Thessaloniki on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Sakis MITROLIDIS / AFP)
People visit the 43rd Thessaloniki Book Festival in Thessaloniki on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Sakis MITROLIDIS / AFP)

A fishing boat carrying nearly 300 migrants to Europe has safely reached a southern Greek island after a large rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, Greek authorities said Monday.
There were no immediate reports of injury or ill health among the 283 migrants, The Associated Press quoted the coast guard as saying.
A coast guard statement said a search was launched before dawn Monday after authorities were notified that a vessel carrying migrants was hit by high winds south of Crete.
Two coast guard vessels, four merchant ships and two smaller private boats took part in the operation, and the migrant vessel was located 18 nautical miles south of Gavdos, a small island off southern Crete. The fishing boat was finally able to reach the port of Gavdos with its own engines, and the migrants safely disembarked.
There was no immediate information as to the nationalities of the migrants, or where they had departed from.
Tiny Gavdos in recent months has become an important destination for migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean from eastern Libya. Typically, people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia seeking a better life in Europe pay thousands of dollars to smugglers for a spot on the dangerous, overcrowded vessels.
In June 2023, a rusty trawler that was carrying an estimated 750 people from Tobruk in eastern Libya to Italy sank off southwestern Greece leaving hundreds feared drowned. Only 104 passengers survived, and 82 bodies were recovered.