Iran Focus
At least eight people died and dozens were injured when two bombs exploded at a bank and a government building in the oil-rich city on Tuesday.
Irans Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters on Wednesday that Britain had to be held to account for its role in the twin bombings.
Britain must answer the Iranian nations questions regarding the events in Ahwaz and the terrorist explosions in Khuzestan [Province”>, Mottaki said.
Ahwaz, the capital of the Arab-dominated province of Khuzestan, has been the scene of unremitting anti-government protests since the start of 2005. Iran has pointed the finger at Britain as the primary instigator of anti-government violence in Khuzestan.
Mottaki said that London had to be answerable for the cooperation and support of the occupying forces in Basra and the disturbances, explosions, and events that have occurred in Khuzestan.
The Iranian foreign minister said that his countrys intelligence service was sure that the attacks were planned in either London or in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where British troops are based.
Yesterdays attacks were carried out by individuals who along with their likeminded colleagues in London proudly take photos with British officials. In Basra they are supported by British army commanders. The British government must be held accountable to the Iranian nation, Mottaki said.
On Tuesday, Irans Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi accused foreigners of masterminding the attacks.
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.
After 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.
