Ahvaz Attack; Baqeri Threatens Saudi Arabia with 'Decisive Response'

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces accused Saudi Arabia of being involved in the Ahvaz attack and warned that if the country does not 'correct' its behavior and 'apologize', the armed forces of the Islamic Republic 'reserve the right to a decisive response' 'at any time and place'. According to Tasnim News Agency, Mohammad Hossein Baqeri also threatened that Iranian armed forces would 'pursue the criminals in any part of the world'. This senior military commander warned some countries, which he claimed had previously spoken of transferring 'insecurity into Iran's borders', to 'correct their hostile behaviors' towards the Islamic Republic of Iran and to apologize to the Iranian people. In the attack on Saturday during a military parade in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province, at least 24 people were killed and dozens injured. Baqeri's remarks about the threat from some countries refer to statements made by Mohammed bin Salman, the current Defense Minister and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, last year. In May 2017, in an interview with Saudi state television, he stated: 'We know we are the target of Iran. We will not wait for the war to be brought to Saudi Arabia, so we are working to ensure that the war is in Iran and not on Saudi soil.' The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations described Mohammed bin Salman's remarks as a 'clear threat' and 'an admission of cooperation with terrorist groups inside Iran'. Iranian officials have previously accused Saudi Arabia of supporting armed groups opposed to the government in Khuzestan, Kurdistan, and Sistan and Baluchestan. However, Saudi Arabia and these groups have denied these accusations. On the same day, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused 'regional governments' and foreign governments of being involved in the attack on the Iranian armed forces parade in Ahvaz without providing evidence. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement claiming that a 'Western, Hebrew, and Arab evil triangle' is 'not sparing any effort or conspiracy in pursuing the project of transferring insecurity into the Islamic homeland'. This entity threatened that it would 'spare no effort to pursue and punish the criminals in the region and beyond'. The Iranian Minister of Intelligence also stated that Iranian security forces would 'give a decisive response to the planners of this act at the earliest appropriate opportunity'. The threat from the IRGC comes at a time when Ahmad Mola Abunahad, known as Ahmad Nissi, who was referred to as the founder of the 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahvaz', was killed on November 8, 2017, in front of his residence in The Hague. Hur Al-Tustari, spokesperson for the 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahvaz', in an interview with Radio Farda, identified the 'National Resistance of Ahvaz' group as responsible for the operations in the city of Ahvaz, a group that he said is 'broader and includes several groups'. Following the attack on the Iranian armed forces parade in Ahvaz, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of the Netherlands, Denmark, and the temporary charge d'affaires of the British Embassy, in the absence of the ambassador of that country. On Sunday, the Foreign Ministry also summoned the charge d'affaires of the United Arab Emirates in the absence of the ambassador of that country and in protest against the remarks of a former official of that country regarding the Ahvaz attack. Meanwhile, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Iran, stated: 'In this meeting, the charge d'affaires of the UAE was warned that open support for terrorist actions by individuals affiliated with official Emirati centers would lead to responsibility for the Emirati government, and indifference in this regard is unacceptable.' Abdullah Abdulkhaleq, a former advisor to Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of the UAE and a political science professor, wrote on his Twitter page in response to the attack on the armed forces parade in Ahvaz that 'the attack against a military target does not count as terrorism'.