Salehi visits Libya to pursue Imam Mussa Sadr's fate

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is due to visit Tripoli in the near future to meet Libyan officials to discuss the case of kidnapped Shiite Cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr and also exchange views over the bilateral relations between the two countries following the death of the Libyan dictator, Muammar Qaddafi."The head of Iran's diplomatic apparatus is slated to travel to Libya in the near future according to his scheduled plan," Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian told FNA on Tuesday. He underlined that the fate of Imam Mussa Sadr is one of the issues to be discussed during Salehi's trip to Libya, and said, "We have no document saying that Imam Mussa Sadr has definitely been martyred and based on our information, Imam Mussa Sadr is in Libya and his fate in that country should be clarified." Amir Abdollahian also reiterated that the Iranian top diplomat is scheduled to meet with the officials of the National Transitional Council of Libya and announce that Tehran supports and is ready to assist with reconstruction efforts in the North African country. While Sadr's family said that he was still alive and remained a prisoner in Libya, Qaddafi's former associate Abdel-Monem Houni claimed in February that Sadr had been killed and buried shortly after he was kidnapped. Al-Sadr an Iranian-born Lebanese philosopher spent many years of his life in Lebanon as a religious and political leader, before he went missing during a trip to Libya at the invitation of Muammar al-Qaddafi. In August 1978, al-Sadr departed for Libya with two companions to meet officials of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi's government. They were never heard from again, and many believe they met with foul play at the hands of Qaddafi. The Qaddafi-ruled Libya consistently denied responsibility, claiming that al-Sadr and his companions left Libya for Italy in 1978. However, others claimed that al-Sadr was still alive and being kept in a secret jail in Libya. Rome has persistently said that Sadr never arrived in Italy on the alleged flight.