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Iran Calls Trump’s Response to Attacks ‘Repugnant’; Toll Rises to 17 Iran Says Calls Trump’s Response to Attacks ‘Repugnant’; Toll Rises to 17
(about 1 hour later)
Iran’s foreign minister denounced on Thursday the United States response to a pair of deadly assaults in Tehran as “repugnant,” as the death toll in the attacks rose to 17, with 52 others wounded.Iran’s foreign minister denounced on Thursday the United States response to a pair of deadly assaults in Tehran as “repugnant,” as the death toll in the attacks rose to 17, with 52 others wounded.
Armed assailants carried out brazen attacks on two high-profile sites on Wednesday — the Parliament building, and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic — adding to tensions in the Middle East. Armed followers of the Islamic State carried out brazen attacks on two high-profile sites on Wednesday — the Parliament building, and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic — adding to tensions in the Middle East. It was the first time the militant group had carried out a significant operation of Iran.
Five “veteran Daesh terrorists” were involved in the terrorist attacks, the Iranian government said on Thursday, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.
The five men left Iran to fight for the terrorist group in Mosul, Iraq, and in Raqqa, Syria, the group’s de facto capital, according to a government statement. They returned to Iran last July or August under the leadership of a commander with the nom de guerre Abu Aisha, and “intended to carry out terrorist operations in religious cities.”The five men left Iran to fight for the terrorist group in Mosul, Iraq, and in Raqqa, Syria, the group’s de facto capital, according to a government statement. They returned to Iran last July or August under the leadership of a commander with the nom de guerre Abu Aisha, and “intended to carry out terrorist operations in religious cities.”
The government released photographs of the men, who were killed by security forces, but made public only their first names, saying they did not want to release their surnames because of security and privacy concerns for their families. The government said the men were “long affiliated with the Wahhabi,” the ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia — but stopped short of directly blaming Saudi Arabia, its rival for supremacy in the region. The government released photographs of the five men, who were killed by security forces, but made public only their first names, saying they did not want to release surnames because of security and privacy concerns for their families. A sixth assailant, a woman, was captured at the mausoleum and is being interrogated, officials said. Initial reports on Wednesday had said that six attackers had been killed, not five — a discrepancy that was not immediately explained on Thursday.
The statement did not disclose the nationalities of the five men, though Reza Seifollahi, deputy chief of the Supreme National Security Council, told the independent newspaper Shargh that they were Iranian.
If true, that would be an extraordinary departure — the Islamic State is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, Iran is the world’s largest Shiite Muslim nation, and the Islamic State has fought Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
That said, the Islamic State has been stepping up Persian-language propaganda, part of an effort to woo the Sunni minority in Iran. In March, the Islamic State released a video, featuring Iranian fighters, in which it called on Sunnis in the country to form cells and carry out attacks on Shiite forces, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which analyzed the video.
Moreover, the 9/11 Commission, which investigated the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2011, found that Al Qaeda and Iran had a relationship in the early 1990s that “demonstrated that Sunni-Shia divisions did not necessarily pose an insurmountable barrier to cooperation in terrorist operations.”
As recently as 2012, the Treasury Department in Washington chided the Iranians for support for Al Qaeda in Iraq, a precursor of the Islamic State.
The Iranian government said the five men were “long affiliated with the Wahhabi,” the ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia — but stopped short of directly blaming Saudi Arabia, its rival for supremacy in the region.
There was a heightened police presence in the streets of Tehran on Thursday, most significantly near the sites of the attacks and on the subways. A deputy interior minister, Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari, also said that “law enforcement activities may increase.”There was a heightened police presence in the streets of Tehran on Thursday, most significantly near the sites of the attacks and on the subways. A deputy interior minister, Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari, also said that “law enforcement activities may increase.”
The United States responded to the dual assaults on Wednesday with a statement that expressed sympathy for the victims while also taking a swipe at the Iranian leadership.The United States responded to the dual assaults on Wednesday with a statement that expressed sympathy for the victims while also taking a swipe at the Iranian leadership.
“We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times,” President Trump said in a statement. “We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.”“We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times,” President Trump said in a statement. “We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.”
That elicited an angry response from Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, who helped negotiate a landmark nuclear deal that Iran, the United States and other countries reached in 2015.That elicited an angry response from Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, who helped negotiate a landmark nuclear deal that Iran, the United States and other countries reached in 2015.
“Repugnant WH statement & Senate sanctions as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients,” Mr. Zarif wrote on Twitter. “Iranian people reject such US claims of friendship.”“Repugnant WH statement & Senate sanctions as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients,” Mr. Zarif wrote on Twitter. “Iranian people reject such US claims of friendship.”
The foreign minister also wrote on Twitter: “Terror-sponsoring despots threaten to bring the fight to our homeland. Proxies attack what their masters despise most: the seat of democracy.”The foreign minister also wrote on Twitter: “Terror-sponsoring despots threaten to bring the fight to our homeland. Proxies attack what their masters despise most: the seat of democracy.”
The state-run news agency IRNA said that the death toll in the attacks had risen to 17, citing Dr. Ahmad Shojaei, who leads the country’s forensics center.The state-run news agency IRNA said that the death toll in the attacks had risen to 17, citing Dr. Ahmad Shojaei, who leads the country’s forensics center.
Earlier in the day, Pir-Hossein Koulivand, who leads Iran’s Medical Services Organization, said the number of wounded had risen to 52, and that 15 had been discharged from hospitals.Earlier in the day, Pir-Hossein Koulivand, who leads Iran’s Medical Services Organization, said the number of wounded had risen to 52, and that 15 had been discharged from hospitals.
At least six assailants were killed, and five people have been taken into custody. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Parliament, said that one of the assailants involved in the attack on the Khomeini shrine was a woman and that she had been arrested by the intelligence forces.At least six assailants were killed, and five people have been taken into custody. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Parliament, said that one of the assailants involved in the attack on the Khomeini shrine was a woman and that she had been arrested by the intelligence forces.
Statements of support from Iran’s allies continued to pour in on Thursday.Statements of support from Iran’s allies continued to pour in on Thursday.
President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has received crucial support from Iran during the country’s six-year civil war, spoke by telephone with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran on Thursday and affirmed his determination to fight “terrorists and their supporters,” according to a report from Syrian state media. Both Iran and Syria portray the war as a conflict against Western- and Gulf-sponsored terrorism. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq expressed his condolences in a message to President Hassan Rouhani of Iran.
President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has received crucial support from Iran during the country’s six-year civil war, spoke by telephone with Mr. Rouhani and affirmed his determination to fight “terrorists and their supporters,” according to a report from Syrian state media. Both Iran and Syria portray the war as a conflict against Western- and Gulf-sponsored terrorism.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which serves as a proxy for Iran in Syria and Lebanon, also condemned the attacks, calling them part of an “international, destructive plan” backed by various governments in the region.The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which serves as a proxy for Iran in Syria and Lebanon, also condemned the attacks, calling them part of an “international, destructive plan” backed by various governments in the region.