Iran's cultural attache, Sheikh
Ibrahim Al-Ansari, was killed in the attack, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon
told Hezbollah TV.
The dead also included two
Iranian civilians who lived in a building close to the Iranian embassy,
Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
Stunned witnesses looked on as a
series of massive flames and pillars of black smoke leapt into the the sky. The
fires burned out several cars parked on a nearby street.
At least six buildings were
damaged, Lebanese Internal Security Forces said.
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon,
Ghazanfar Roknabadi, said he had no doubt the Iranian embassy was the target of
the two blasts -- but that any effort to thwart Iran's agendas would be
unsuccessful.
"We have no fear when it comes to
giving more martyrs in the line of duties," the ambassador told Hezbollah's
Al-Manar TV.
Iran is a supporter of Hezbollah,
a Shiite militant group based in Lebanon.
Syria connection?
The motive behind the attack was
not immediately clear. But the blasts took place in an area largely dominated by
Hezbollah, which has been sending fighters to support Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad's regime.
More than 100,000 people have
died in Syria's ongoing civil war, which pits al-Assad's Alawite-dominated
regime against largely Sunni rebel fighters seeking an end to his family
dynasty. Alawites make up an offshoot of Shia Islam, but the majority of Syrians
are Sunni.
The Syrian crisis has led to
sectarian violence across the border in Lebanon. Sunni-backed rebels have
threatened to take the fight into Lebanon, but it was not clear who was behind
Tuesday's blasts.
Call for
restraint
Lebanon's acting prime minister,
Najib Mikati, said the blasts were "a cowardly terrorist attack" and urged the
Lebanese public "to exercise the utmost restraint because we are going through a
very difficult phase," NNA reported.
Mikati also called the Iranian
ambassador to check on his safety and express his condolences, NNA said.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh contributed to this report.
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