Beirut – The father of slain anti-Syrian Lebanese MP and journalist Jubran Tueini confirmed Saturday that he will sue Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations for comments he made about his son. Veteran Lebanese diplomat Ghassan Tueini charged that Syria’s United Nations ambassador Fayssal Mekdad compared his son to a ‘dog’ in comments reported Wednesday by the U.S. daily The New York Sun.

‘I will definitely sue him (Mekdad) before the American courts, Tueini retiterated his comment infront people paying their condolences for the death of son, who killed in a massive carbomb blast on Monday. In its report from the U.N. headquarters in New York, the Sun quoted ‘a diplomat’ who overheard a conversation between Mekdad and an Arab diplomat in which the derogatory comments were allegedly made.

‘So now every time that a dog dies in Beirut there will be an international investigation?’ the paper reported Mekdad as saying to a colleague during a closed door session.

The paper added that the diplomat who overheard and reported the conversation declined to be named.

The Tueini-owned An Nahar newsaper said that Mekdad had sent a letter to Tueini in which he ‘categorically denied’ comments attributed to him by the US daily.

Jubran Tueini was killed along with his driver and his bodyguard, in the latest spate of attacks targeting critics of Damascus.

The killing of Tueini came as U.N. investigator Detleve Mehlis released a new report into the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose death has been blamed on Syria, which denies any responsibility.

The U.N. investigator released two reports into the assassination in October and this week. Both cited evidence suggesting that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officer were involved in Hariri’s murder.

Mehlis’ mandate for the Hariri probe ended Thursday but he will stay on the job until his replacement is found.

According to Lebanese media reports earlier this week a Belgium judge will replace Mehlis.