The deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned US and Israeli leaders on September 24 to expect a "devastating" response from Tehran, accusing them of involvement in an attack on a military parade in the city of Ahvaz. Militants disguised as soldiers opened fire on an annual Iranian military parade in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. The shooting was the deadliest terror attack to strike the country in nearly a decade. Thousands of people packed the streets of the Iranian city of Ahvaz to mourn the victims of the attack that took place on September 22. Twenty-five people including 12 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards were killed.
The coffins, wrapped in the flag of the Islamic Republic, were carried by the mourners. Four assailants fired on a viewing stand in Ahvaz where Iranian officials had gathered to watch an annual event marking the start of the Islamic Republic's 1980-88 war with Iraq. Women and children fled for their lives as soldiers crawled on the street to avoid bullets.
Suspects behind the attack have already been arrested and the government has declared September 24 as a day of mourning.
Gulf tensions
Top Iranian leaders feel that the attack was carried out by militants trained by Israel and Gulf states, and supported by the US. This is likely to antagonise Iran's regional foe Saudi Arabia. The oil superpowers are waging a war for influence across the Middle East, backing opposite sides in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.
The US condemned the attack and expressed sympathy. “We stand with the Iranian people against the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism and express our sympathy to them at this terrible time,” said Heather Nauert, the US State Department spokeswoman.
On the other hand, US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley urged Iran to "look in the mirror" for causes of the attack. She went on to say that the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had "oppressed his people for a long time". A video released by the Islamic State group's news agency, Amaq, shows three men in a car who appear to be dressed in Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) uniforms, possibly on their way to carry out the shooting. Senior commanders of the IRGC have said the attack was carried out by militants trained by Gulf states and Israel, which is backed by America. But it is unlikely the IRGC will strike any of these foes directly.
