Official Teheran hails arrest of Saddam Hussein

Official spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Hamid Reza Asefi has expressed his satisfaction over the arrest of the former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein.

The press service of the Iranian foreign ministry quotes Asefi as saying: We are joining the joy of the Iraqis. The arrest and neutralizing of Hussein will in effect become the reason for healing the wounds and torments of the Iranians, especially members of those families whose relatives were killed or wounded during the eight-year Iranian-Iraqi war (1980-1988).

According to the Iranian diplomat, the crimes of Saddam Hussein against the people of Iraq, the Iranian nation, and the population of the region, including the use of chemical weapons on his orders are obvious and are not to be forgotten.

Open trial over Saddam Hussein and his supporters will serve as a ground for restoring the violated rights, Asefi said.

He also expressed the hope, that the arrest of Hussein would help make the transfer of power in Iraq and control over the country to the Iraqi people simpler, would expedite this process and put an end to the country's occupation.