Iran Attributes Chabahar Explosion to 'Foreign-Supported Terrorists'

Iranian media have reported the number of casualties from the explosion at the police headquarters in Chabahar to be between two and three dead and several injured; simultaneously, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic has attributed the attack to 'foreign-supported terrorists.' Media outlets primarily mention two fatalities from the explosion on Thursday morning, including a second lieutenant and a conscript soldier, along with three injuries. However, Shahryar Heydari, Deputy for Border Affairs at the Ministry of Interior, told ILNA that in addition to the 'suicide bomber,' three people were killed in the explosion. According to Iranian media citing security sources, the cause of the explosion on Thursday morning was that a suicide attacker crashed a bomb-laden vehicle into the entrance of the Chabahar police headquarters; reports of gunfire at the scene were also published. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, attributed the Chabahar explosion to 'terrorists' who are 'foreign-supported.' In a Twitter message, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic noted that 'such crimes will not go unpunished,' writing: 'In 2010, our security services tracked and arrested extremists coming from the UAE.' Zarif's reference is to the arrest and subsequent execution of Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of the Jundallah group, whose plane, traveling from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan, was forced to land in Iran. On the other hand, several news websites and Al Arabiya network reported that the group 'Ansar al-Furqan' claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on Thursday morning in Chabahar. 'Ansar al-Furqan' is a splinter group of 'Jundallah,' and the Islamic Republic announced in June 2017 that the leader of this group, Mowlavi Jalil Qanbarzahi, was killed in Sistan and Baluchestan. This group has claimed responsibility for several explosions in Iran's territory. Several other officials of the Islamic Republic have also condemned the Chabahar attack, and some of them have implicitly attributed the responsibility for this attack to Saudi Arabia. Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, in his message, without naming Saudi Arabia, wrote that those 'who are currently heavily involved in their historical and lasting disgrace of killing people in their embassies' are 'compounding their black record for a heavier fateful time.' Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also attributed the Thursday morning attack in Chabahar to 'terrorists nurtured in the lap of certain countries and centers promoting violence and extremism in the region.' Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, also wrote that 'these kinds of terrorist actions' designed and executed by the enemies of this country and nation are doomed to failure. The port and free zone of Chabahar is located 645 kilometers south of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province, and India is responsible for the 'management and development' of this port. The Indian Foreign Ministry has 'strongly condemned' the Thursday morning attack, calling it 'terrorist.' The suicide bombing in Chabahar occurs just two months after a deadly attack in Ahvaz that resulted in 24 deaths.