Iran slams ‘routine’ US support for terrorists

After the captured leader of the Jundallah terrorist group disclosed his ties with the US, Iran says the support of the so-called advocates of human rights for terrorists shows their dishonest approach.

“Ties between this terrorist group and security services of the so-called advocates of human rights including the US, Britain and certain other countries indicate that they are not honest about their claims of having respect for human rights,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Saturday.

The captured ringleader of the Jundallah terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi, has confessed that the US administration had assured him of unlimited military aid and funding for inciting insurgency against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Rigi was captured by Iranian forces on Tuesday. He was aboard a passenger jet flying to Kyrgyzstan from the UAE when his plane was grounded in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas.

The Jundallah group has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks in Iran. The group has carried out mass murder, armed robbery, kidnappings, acts of sabotage and bombings inside Iran.

Mehmanparast said it comes as no surprise to Iran that the countries, which claim to be fighting terrorism, are supporting terrorists like Rigi.

“The support of certain so-called human rights advocates for terrorist groups and criminals such as Abdolmalek Rigi has turned into a routine issue,” he said.

He pointed to the close cooperation between terrorist groups and the US, Britain and some European countries in the region and said, “We have always witnessed the support of these countries for terrorist groups to continue their moves in the region.”

Iranian security forces explained that Rigi was at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his arrest and was carrying a forged Afghan passport issued by the US at the time he was detained.

In one attack Jundallah terrorists killed at least 40 people in the southeastern city of Pishin.