Iran on Saturday said the West and Israel is to be blamed for the twin suicide bombings that killed 27 people Thursday. The statement came from Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi who was quoted on state television's website as saying, "This blind terrorist act was carried out by the mercenaries of the world arrogance (the Western powers)." But, despite these accusations, the European Union, United Nations and United States condemned the attack on Iran. Meanwhile, 40 people were arrested for "creating disturbances" in the southeastern city of Zahedan, where the bombing took place Thursday.
However, Sunni militant group Jundallah claimed responsibility of the attack in order to avenge the execution of their leader Abdolmalek Rigi on June 20. But, directly accusing the Washington for the attack, parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted on the website as saying, "Today, the country is mourning the tragic explosion in Zahedan which was done with the backing of Americans. Americans can't come up with any excuse since they are connected with the Rigi group."
Moreover, Israel, Iran’s arch-enemy, was also brought into the blame game by Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar. "The terrorist act by the Zionists had a number of objectives, including creating division between Shiites and Sunnis," the ISNA news agency quoted Najjar as saying. However, he said Iran's security and intelligence services now had "a grip on the situation
But, US, EU and UN heads condemned the bombings in Iran. US President Barack Obama condemned the "outrageous terrorist attacks, while UN chief Ban Ki-moon said it was a "senseless act of terrorism" and EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton called it a "cowardly terrorist attacks."
