Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jan. 24 Iran accused foreigners on Tuesday of masterminding dual bombings in the southern oil-rich city of Ahwaz that left at least eight people dead and dozens injured. Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Jan. 24 Iran accused foreigners on Tuesday of masterminding dual bombings in the southern oil-rich city of Ahwaz that left at least eight people dead and dozens injured.
Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said that the explosions were part of a pattern of blind moves orchestrated from beyond the borders.
One of the blasts occurred minutes after 10 am inside one of Ahwazs banks. The ceiling of Saman Bank collapsed and parts of it were set ablaze, the banks manager told state-run news agencies.
The head of the Medical Faculty of the citys university announced that there were at least eight confirmed fatalities and 46 injuries.
A second blast was caused by a sonic-boom at the Natural Resources Organisation.
Since the incident occurred, enemy mouthpieces have become active and it is clear they have been expecting such an event, Pour-Mohammadi told lawmakers at a session of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, the official state-run news agency reported.
When the ill-wishers of the system fail to meet their objectives through usual means, they resort to such moves; but definitely such acts will have no effect on the will of our people, he said.
After a spate of similar bombings in Ahwaz last year, a string of top government officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, hinted at a British government role in the attacks, which followed a spate of popular uprising in the volatile region that left dozens of residents killed or wounded. London has repeatedly denied any involvement.
In November, the countrys intelligence chief told reporters that Tehran had finally proven the role of the United Kingdom in the October bombings.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ezhei, a radical Shiite cleric who runs Irans dreaded secret police, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), said that all those responsible for carrying out the November bombings had been arrested and had direct links to Britain.
All the elements behind the bombings and disruptions in Ahwaz have been identified and arrested. The cases against some of them after being completed in the Ministry of Intelligence and Security were sent to the judiciary and are in their final stages, Ezhei said.
Some of those arrested are still at the disposal of the Intelligence Ministry for further questioning and interrogation, the intelligence chief said.
Some of these networks had direct links to foreign elements including the British government, he added.
Iran has also blamed Canada for another spate of bombings in Ahwaz earlier last year. Tehran has not produced any documents yet to substantiate its charges against London and Ottawa.
On Tuesday, Al-Manar television, run by Lebanese Hezbollah, reported that the attacks were targeting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The report said that after learning of possible attacks, Ahmadinejad had cancelled his trip.
