Mattis Calls Iran's Accusation of U.S. Involvement in Deadly Ahvaz Attacks 'Ridiculous'

The U.S. Secretary of Defense described Tehran's accusation against his country regarding involvement in the deadly attacks in Ahvaz as 'ridiculous' and stated he is not concerned about the threat from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) regarding a response to the U.S. On October 2, Jim Mattis rejected the accusations made by Iranian officials against the United States, as well as the statements from the IRGC's deputy commander regarding a reaction to them. The Ahvaz attack, labeled a terrorist attack by the United Nations Security Council, resulted in the deaths of at least 25 people. Hours after the attacks, Iranian officials pointed fingers at several countries in the region and the world. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on Monday that the perpetrators of this attack 'have their hands in the pockets of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.' On the same day, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, accused Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and Israel of being involved in this attack and warned to expect a 'hard' response from Iran. Mr. Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon that he is not worried about Iran's threats: 'They have accused at least three countries and I think a terrorist group. We will see how long this list gets. But it would be good if they knew what they were going to say before they say it.' Iranian officials have yet to provide any evidence to support their claims and accusations. This is not the first time the Islamic Republic has accused regional countries, Israel, and the U.S. of involvement in armed attacks. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others have also leveled similar accusations against Tehran. U.S. officials, from Nikki Haley, the ambassador to the U.N., to Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, had previously rejected Tehran's accusations before Mr. Mattis. Ms. Haley had urged the Islamic Republic to take a closer look at its own actions to understand the reasons behind this incident. Mike Pompeo also stated in an interview with Fox on Sunday that the death of innocent people is 'painful' and added that blaming others when a security incident occurs in a country is a big mistake. In addition to accusing Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and the U.S., Iran has summoned the ambassadors of the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as the British chargé d'affaires in Tehran. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council stated in a statement that 'any act of terrorism, regardless of motivation, location, time, and who committed it, is a criminal and unjustifiable act.' The council labeled the Ahvaz attacks as terrorist and emphasized the necessity of holding accountable the perpetrators and supporters of these actions and 'administering justice' against them, calling on all governments to cooperate with the Iranian government based on their international obligations.