By NNN-FNA,
Tehran : Iran’s intelligence minister said that a terrorist group with links with the US and Britain which bombed a religious center in the southern city of Shiraz last month also planned to attack a Russian consulate in the northern part of the country.
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi Said that the group planned to bomb the consulate in Rasht city in northern Iran to strain the friendly relations between Iran and Russia.
Ejehi announced that 15 people, all Iranian nationals, had been arrested in connection with the deadly explosion in Shiraz that killed 13 people and injured 200 others.
“Their next target was the Russian consulate general in Rasht. They obviously hoped that the explosion would strain Iran’s relations with its neighbours,” Ejehi said.
He also said that the group received support from people in the US but did not provide additional details about the group or its supporters.
Ejehi ruled out any links between the Shiraz bombers and the Mujahedeen Khalq terrorist organization (MKO).
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it would beef up security at its administrative buildings in Iran following the busting of the plot.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Tehran in cooperation with the Iranian side are taking the necessary additional measures to strengthen security at Russian representative buildings and of citizens in Iran,” said the ministry’s official Web site.
Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said, vowing that those convicted would be sentenced to severe punishment.
“The arrested people… clearly confessed to having links with foreigners, especially the UK and the United States,” he told a news conference.
“They had received training from foreigners to make bombs. It has become clear and transparent through bank accounts that foreigners gave financial support to the terrorists.
“These things have become clear and they admitted to these things,” he added.
Jamshidi said the detainees had been arrested with explosives and bomb-making material and that they intended to carry out bombings in other crowded places.
Jamshidi said on Monday that Iran may take legal action against the United States and Britain over the April 12 blast, which ripped through a packed mosque during a prayer sermon by a prominent local cleric.
Last week, Iran blamed Western-backed monarchists for the bombing which also wounded more than 200 people.
Later on Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also blasted the United States, Israel and Britain for their involvement in the blast.
“The blast took place shortly after the Zionist regime (Israel), America and some British agents said they planned to assassinate Iranian officials,” Ahmadinejad told a news conference.
“Those behind the bombing were soon arrested and they confessed to their relations with those countries and now the Iranian nation has the evidence of their involvement and support,” he said.
Ahmadinejad said Iran would follow the case “through legal channels”.
Security is normally tight in Iran and bomb attacks have been rare in recent years.
Iran has blamed US and British agents based in neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan for launching deadly attacks in border provinces in recent years.
Documents obtained in previous cases have proved that Britain and the United States have both striven to destabilize the Islamic Republic by supporting rebels, mainly those in sensitive border areas.
But the strike in Shiraz was the first in decades in Iran’s Persian heartland.
The blast and fire in Shiraz occurred about 9 p.m. in the Rahpouyan-e Vessal cultural center section of Shohada Hosseiniyeh mosque.
The explosion ripped through the hall packed with 800 of worshippers as well-known cleric Anjavinejad delivered his weekly speech against extremist Wahabi beliefs and the outlawed Baha’i faith – both of which are considered heretical by Muslims, specially Shiites.
Shiraz – a historical city of more than 1 million people – is known for being home to many scholars, artists and poets, and for local craftsmanship of rugs and metalwork. The tourist city, about 400 miles south of Tehran, is the capital of southern province of Fars.
One of Iran’s most famous cities, Shiraz is popular with foreign tourists because of its proximity to important ancient sites from the Achaemenid Empire that ruled much of Asia from 550-331 BC.