Iran vows to punish Chabahar terrorists and ‘their masters’
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif vowed that Iran would bring to justice the perpetrators and “their masters” of a terrorist attack that killed two policemen and wounded 43 others in the southeastern port city of Chabahar on Thursday.
On his Twitter account, Zarif accused “foreign-backed terrorists” for the car bomb in Sistan-baluchestan Province.
“Foreign-backed terrorists kill & wound innocents in Chabahar. As we’ve made it clear in the past, such crimes won’t go unpunished,” Zarif tweeted.
Rahmdel Bameri, Chabahar’s acting governor, said a bombfilled vehicle was used to target a police station by a suicide attacker.
“Police stopped the explosive-laden car and started firing at the driver ... who then set off the explosion near the police headquarters in Chabahar,” he said.
The Ansar al-furqan terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault.
“As we’ve made clear in the past, such crimes won’t go unpunished: In 2010, our security services intercepted & captured extremists en route from UAE,” Zarif wrote in the tweet.
He was apparently referring to an operation by Iranian intelligence services, which led to the capture in 2010 of Abdolmalek Rigi, the ringleader of the Jundullah terror group. The extremist outfit under Rigi was dismantled and he was executed later that year.
That operation followed a 2009 terror attack by extremist terrorists that claimed over 40 lives in Sistan-baluchestan Province.
“Mark my words: Iran WILL bring terrorists & their masters to justice,” the foreign minister emphasized.
Sistan-and-baluchestan – which borders Pakistan – has suffered several terror attacks targeting both civilians and security forces over the past years.
“Given its exemption from US sanctions as well as its strategic location, Chabahar plays a significant part in the development of Sistan-and-baluchestan Province and the eastern [transportation] corridor,” Bameri said, adding, “Enemies have put destabilizing measures on their agenda to cause insecurity in this important region.”
In a message, Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said such terror attacks are intended to create a rift within the united ranks of Iranian people.
“Such terrorist acts, which are designed and adopted by enemies to divide the Iranian nation, are doomed to failure and will make us more decisive in our fight against terrorism,” he said.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) promised to give a “crushing” response to the attack.
In June, the IRGC said it had killed Ansar al-furqan’s suspected leader, Molavi Jalil Qanbar-zehi, in a mountainous area of Sistanbaluchestan.
A year ago the group claimed responsibility for a blast at an oil pipeline in southwestern Khuzestan Province.
Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said the “savage attack” proved again that the “evil hegemonic system would spare no plot” to target the nation.
The US, the Israeli regime and “the terrorist governments in the region that support them” feel desperate and angry over the “shameful defeat” they have suffered in their attempts to strip the Iranian nation of their independence and freedom, he said.
That is why they have resorted to their stooges inside Iran in the hope of upsetting the country’s stability, Fazli added.
Pakistan became the first country to condemn the terror attack, with its Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Faisal, calling for “concerted efforts” to uproot terrorism and prevent its spread.
Chabahar is a free trade zone and the site of an Indian-backed port complex being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for landlocked Afghanistan.
The Indian Foreign Ministry also condemned Thursday’s attack.
“We wish speedy recovery to those injured. The perpetrators behind this dastardly attack should be brought to justice expeditiously. There can be no justification for any act of terror,” the ministry said.
India has said it is ready to invest up to $500 million to develop the port as it seeks to create a route to landlocked Central Asian countries and Afghanistan that bypasses Pakistan.
UK Ambassador to Tehran Robert Macaire also posted a tweet and said he was “appalled” by the terrorist attack.
Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber al-ahmad al-sabah also sent a message to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to decry the assault, offering condolences to the families of the martyrs. The Qatari Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack. Press TV and Reuters contributed to this story.