Iran's Revolutionary Guard vows 'revenge' over parade attack

Special military force promises to pursue, ‘regionally and beyond,’ the Arab separatists allegedly behind the assault

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Sunday that those behind an attack on a military parade Saturday will face “deadly and unforgiving revenge in the near future.”

The Guard issued the statement a day after an attack claimed by Arab separatists in Ahvaz killed at least 29 people and wounded over 60. It was the deadliest such attack in Iran in nearly a decade.

A news agency close to the Guard said at least eight of its members were killed in the attack. Other reports put the figure at 10.

The Guard said in its statement that it was willing to pursue the attackers “regionally and beyond.”

This picture taken on September 22, 2018 in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz shows injured soldiers lying on the ground at the scene of an attack on a military parade that was marking the anniversary of the outbreak of its devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. (AFP / ISNA / ALIREZA MOHAMMADI)

Iran’s leaders have blamed the attack on the United States. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani claimed Sunday that an unnamed US-allied Arab country in the region supported the group that attacked the parade.

Rouhani said the US supports small “puppet nations” in the Persian Gulf that in turn back those behind the attack. He did not identify the attackers.

Rouhani could have been referring to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain, all of which are close US military allies. He said Iran would respond to the attack in a lawful way.

In this photo provided by the Iranian Students’ News Agency, ISNA, Iranian armed forces members and civilians take shelter in a shooting during a military parade marking the 38th anniversary of Iraq’s 1980 invasion of Iran, in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, Iran, Sept. 22, 2018 (AP Photo/ISNA, Behrad Ghasemi)

Arab Gulf nations view Iran as a regional menace and have long accused it of meddling in other countries’ affairs. Iran backs militant groups across the region.

Early Sunday, Iran summoned diplomats from Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands over allegedly harboring “members of the terrorist group” that launched the attack.

A statement early Sunday from Iran’s Foreign Ministry quoted ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying Danish and Dutch diplomats were told Iran had “already warned” their governments about the unnamed group.

The statement also criticized Britain over a British-based Saudi-linked Farsi-language satellite channel immediately airing an interview with an Ahvazi separatist claiming the attack.

Arab separatists in the region claimed the assault and Iranian officials believe they carried it out. The Islamic State group also claimed the attack, but initially offered incorrect information about it and provided no proof.