Iran blamed the West and Israel yesterday for twin suicide bombings that killed at least 27 people, despite condemnation of the attack by the EU, the UN and the US.
“This blind terrorist act was carried out by the mercenaries of the world arrogance [the Western powers],” state television’s Web site quoted Iranian Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi as saying.
“The agents of this crime were trained and equipped beyond our borders and then came into Iran,” Abdollahi said. “Those who planned this crime and equipped those who carried it out should know that they are responsible for this incident.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Sunni militant group Jundallah claimed it carried out Thursday’s bombings which targeted members of the elite Revolutionary Guards at a mosque in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
Tehran has long charged that Washington has provided support to the group as part of efforts to destabilize the Islamic regime by fomenting unrest among ethnic minorities in sensitive border areas, but on Friday US President Barack Obama condemned the “outrageous terrorist attacks,” while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon blasted a “senseless act of terrorism” and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton condemned “these cowardly terrorist attacks.”
Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar pointed the finger at Israel, charging that Iran’s arch-foe was seeking to stir up sectarian tensions.
“The terrorist act by the Zionists had a number of objectives, including creating division between Shiites and Sunnis,” ISNA news agency quoted Najjar as saying.
He said Iran’s security and intelligence services now had “a grip on the situation.”
Sistan-Baluchestan borders Afghanistan and Pakistan and analysts say Jundallah has exploited the unrest in the region to find safe haven on the frontier.
Abdollahi urged Iran’s eastern neighbors to “watch their borders” to prevent the militant group using their territory.
Jundallah claims it is fighting for the rights of Baluchis, who make up a significant proportion of the population of Sistan-Baluchestan Province and who mainly follow the Sunni branch of Islam.
Crowds of mourners gathered in the provincial capital Zahedan yesterday for a mass funeral for the bombings’ victims.
They gathered outside the city’s Jamia mosque, where the bombers struck, for a procession to the main cemetery.
“Those who committed these terrorist acts are neither Shiite or Sunni,” said one banner carried by mourners, while crowds chanted: “Death to terrorists,” IRNA news agency reported.
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