TEHRAN, (Mehr News Agency) -- Yousof Molaei, an expert in international law, said that Iran should seek war damages from Iraq through diplomatic channels saying this is an important national issue.

The toppled Iraqi regime launched an invasion against Iran in 1980 which led to many human losses and material casualties.

In an exclusive interview with the Mehr News Agency, Molaei said "Our demands are based on the United Nations 598 Resolution and according to the international law the matter should be followed.

Any government taking office in Iraq in the future will be responsible for paying the war damages and this issue has legal basis, Molaei stressed.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has lost many good opportunities, he said, noting that Iran could have had a role in the coalition against Iraq and seeking compensation for war.

Seeking compensations from Iraq is the UN 598 Resolution, the expert said, adding according to the resolution the one who started the war should pay damages something which has declared by the UN secretary general.

Currently, the Iranian foreign diplomacy should take the matter very seriously and keep up the issue through the UN and the Iraqi governing council, remarked the expert in international law. Diplomacy is a playground for activating the policies of a country by considering existing facilities and chances, he said, adding "due to our disagreements with the U.S. our diplomacy could not be very active in the United Nations.”

After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait the UN issued a resolution and damages were paid immediately from Iraqi oil incomes.

At the time some Iranian Nationals lived in Kuwait who suffered a lot but the Iranian diplomatic officials didn’t do anything tangible in this regard and that is why Iran has lost chance after chance.

“It is true that at that time our relations with the UN was not so expanded but the art of policy is to find suitable approaches in hard times,” the expert noted.