Iran warns US, Israel over parade attack
LONDON: The deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned the United States and Israeli leaders yesterday to expect a “devastating” response from Teheran, accusing them of involvement in an attack on a military parade in the city of Ahvaz.
“You have seen our revenge before... You will see that our response will be crushing and devastating and you will regret what you have done,” Hossein Salami said in a speech before the funeral of the victims broadcast live on the state television.
Thousands of people packed the streets of the southwestern city of Ahvaz to mourn the victims of Saturday’s assault that killed 25 people, including 12 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards. Many chanted “death to Israel and America”.
The coffins, wrapped in the flag of the Islamic Republic, were carried by the mourners. Many held pictures of a 4-year-old boy killed in the attack.
Four assailants fired on a viewing stand in Ahvaz, where Iranian officials had gathered to watch an annual event marking the start of the Islamic Republic’s 1980-88 war with Iraq.
Soldiers crawled on the street to avoid bullets. Women and children fled for their lives.
Top Iranian leaders also blamed the US’ Gulf Arab allies for the bloodshed.
Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said a large network of suspects had been arrested over the attack.
Islamic State’s Amaq agency posted a video of three men in a vehicle, who it said were on their way to carry out the attack.
A man wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with what appears to be a Revolutionary Guard logo discussed the impending attack in Farsi in the video.
“We are Muslims, they are kafirs (non-believers). We will destroy them with a strong and guerilla-style attack, inshallah (God willing).”
In Washington DC, of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday rejected Teheran’s accusations.
President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also threw tough remarks on the US, blaming it for provoking the attack.
“When you have a security incident at home, blaming others is an enormous mistake,” said Pompeo in Fox News on Sunday.
Responding to Zarif’s tweet in which he vowed to act “swiftly and decisively in defence of Iranian lives”, Pompeo said: “I wish Zarif would focus on keeping his own people secure rather than causing insecurity around the world.”