President Says Iran Set to Punish Masterminds of Ahwaz Terrorist Attack

TEHRAN (defapress)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday joined a host of military officials to reiterate that Tehran will not close its eyes to those countries that masterminded the September 22 attacks in the Southwestern city of Ahwaz.

News ID: 72841

Date: 03 October 2018 - 16:29

"Iran's response will always be crushing and of course, the world should know that we see and condemn the plotters and masterminds as the terrorists who conducted the terrorist attack (in Ahwaz) and we will confront them too and they will be crushed," President Rouhani said, addressing a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.

"We target the masterminds and the main group (which carried out the terrorist attack in Ahwaz) and their center, which, of course, entails our subsequent action as well," he added.

President Rouhani said some individuals who been in contact with the criminals have been captured, who he said will be severely punished, and vowed Tehran's tough confrontation against those have done the plotting and masterminded the terrorist move.

26 people were killed and 69 others were wounded in an attack by al-Ahwaziya terrorist group during the nationwide military parades in the Southwestern city of Ahwaz on September 22.

The terrorists attacked the bystanders watching the annual Armed Forces' parades, marking the start of the Sacred Defense Week, commemorating Iranians' sacrifices during the 8 years of the Iraqi imposed war on Iran in 1980s, in disguise of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Basij (volunteer) forces, killing and wounding several people, including innocent women and children.

In response, the IRGC fired 6 ballistic ground-to-ground missiles and launched drone attacks on terrorists' positions in Eastern Euphrates region in Eastern Syria.

During the operations codenamed Zarbat-e Moharram (Blow of Moharram) carried out at 2:00 AM (local time) on Monday the headquarters of Takfiri terrorists near Albu Kamal region in Eastern Euphrates was attacked from Kermanshah province in Western Iran, 570km away from the targets.

The IRGC's Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced on Tuesday that the missile strikes against the terrorist targets in Syria killed 40 ISIL commanders and smashed all targets.

Also, on Monday, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri revealed that the terrorists who carried out the September 22 attacks in Ahwaz city were supported by the ISIL, lauding the Monday IRGC missile strikes against the command center of the notorious group in Syria.

"The terrorists (in Ahwas attack) were supported by the ISIL and another terrorist group whose leaders are in the European states," General Baqeri said in Tehran.

He described the Monday missile strikes against the ISIL positions in Eastern Syria as the first stage of Iran's revenge, and said, "The massive missile and drone operations of the (Iranian) Armed Forces were of high value because these drones travelled through the airspace of several countries to reach the target with high precision and inflicted heavy blows to the enemy. (Also), the missiles hit the enemy's positions after flying for over 550km."

Meantime, former commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Mohsen Rezayee said that the IRGC's Monday missile strikes on the command center of the terrorists who carried out the September 22 attacks in Southwestern Iran was just a flick, warning that a more powerful revenge was in the offing.

"The IRGC's missile strikes against the terrorists who conducted the Ahwaz attack was a flick to these criminals. The major punishment is on the way," Rezayee, who is the secretary of Iran's Expediency Council (EC), wrote on his twitter page.

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