TEHRAN — The Iranian Foreign Ministry has paid tribute to Imam Musa al-Sadr on the anniversary of his disappearance, saying Tehran has been making international efforts for four decades to find out the truth about the top Shia cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr.

“There have been follow-ups and dialogs at bilateral and international levels to find out about his fate,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Saturday, according to Tasnim

Sadr, a prominent Iranian-Lebanese Shia scholar, went missing with two companions on August 31, 1978, during an official visit to the Libyan capital Tripoli. He was accompanied by Sheikh Mohammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine.

Khatibzadeh said Imam Musa al-Sadr is one of the most notable figures that did his utmost to ensure Muslim unity and dignity, dialogue among religions, and proximity of faiths.

Sadr’s services and endeavors are so extensive that all people in the region enjoy them today, particularly the appreciative people of Lebanon, he said.

“He was the founder of an intellectual and behavioral school of thought in the Islamic world and the Shiite world whose benefits have continued until today and are becoming clearer every day,” the spokesman added.

Khatibzadeh also attributed the victories, progress and achievements of the resistance movement to the presence of Sadr in Lebanon.

“Imam Musa al-Sadr is renowned in Lebanon mainly for his role in shaping the main cores of resistance against the Zionist regime’s occupation and in creating unity and peaceful coexistence among followers of religions,” he added.

MH/PA