World reacts to deadly Beirut bombings

WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS/MOSCOW/ - Agence France-Presse

lames rise from the site of a blast in Bir Hassan neighbourhood in southern Beirut on November 19, 2013. AFP Photo

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday condemned what he called the "senseless and despicable" bomb attacks against Iran's embassy in Beirut, urging all parties to back Lebanon's probe.
 
"The United States knows too well the cost of terrorism directed at our own diplomats around the world, and our hearts go out to the Iranian people after this violent and unjustifiable attack," Kerry said in a statement.
 
The double suicide bombing killed 23 people and wounded another 146 and has been claimed by an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group.
 
"The United States strongly condemns today's senseless and despicable terrorist bombings at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut," Kerry said.
 
"We extend our condolences to the victims and their families. We urge all parties to exercise calm and restraint to avoid inflaming the situation further." Kerry said the US supports Lebanon's pledge to investigate the incident, urging that "those responsible are brought to justice."

Ban and UN Security Council condemn Beirut blast

The UN Security Council and UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned suicide bombs at the Iranian embassy in Beirut and called on Lebanese to stay out of the Syria conflict.
 
The 15-member Security Council and Ban released statements that "strongly condemned" the attack.
 
The council "appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country's stability." It "stressed the importance for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon's policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis." The UN secretary general "calls on all in Lebanon to recognize that such appalling and indiscriminate acts of violence target all in Lebanon," said deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq.
 
"He urges all Lebanese parties to act with restraint and to support the institutions of the state, and particularly the security forces, as they seek to prevent further acts of terrorism." UN political chief Jeffrey Feltman on Tuesday highlighted to the UN Security Council reports that Lebanese militia Hezbollah was fighting with President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria "in clear violation" of a statement by Lebanese parties to stay out of the war.

Russia condemns 'terrorist act' in Beirut

Russia on Tuesday strongly condemned as a "terrorist act" the double suicide bombing outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut that killed at least 23 people.

Moscow deplored the "bloody attack" targeting a "diplomatic mission" and called for punishing those responsible for fomenting violence in the volatile region, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The incident again underscores the need to stop those who via a series of bloody attacks in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East and north Africa, seek to rekindle hatred between faiths, which is disastrous for the region and its people," the statement said.