US State Department Expresses Support for Iran After Ahvaz Attack

01:17 GMT, 23 September 2018

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States supports the Iranian people in their fight against radical Islamic terrorism and condemns all terrorist acts, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told Sputnik on Saturday after the terrorist attack in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz.

Sputnik

"We are aware of reports of an attack by gunmen on an Iranian military parade in Ahvaz. We stand with the Iranian people against the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism and express our sympathy to them at this terrible time. The United States condemns all acts of terrorism and the loss of any innocent lives," Nauert said.

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Earlier in the day, armed militants opened fire at the parade, leaving at least 25 people killed and another 60 were injured, according to media reports. The Saudi-linked Patriotic Arab Democratic Movement in Ahwaz has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Previously, Iran summoned ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Denmark, accusing the countries of harbouring Iranian opposition groups, according to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency.

Meanwhile, Iranian Armed Forces spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi said after the attack that the militants who had committed it were linked to the United States and Israel. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had also accused "regional terror sponsors and their US masters" of organizing the attack.