Ahvaz military parade attack

The parade was part of an annual commemoration known as the Sacred Defence Week commemorating the start of the Iran–Iraq War in 1980. It included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps marching along Quds Boulevard in Ahvaz. Five gunmen began shooting at the parade from a nearby park on 22 September 2018 at 09:00 local time, wearing military uniforms and disguised as Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basiji (volunteers); they also targeted a viewing stand and civilian bystanders. The attack lasted about ten minutes. ==Casualties==

The attackers killed 25 people, including 12 soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a four-year-old boy, Many were taken to hospital in critical condition. However, according to CNN, at least 29 people died in the Ahvaz military parade attack. Initial reports conflicted; Iranian state media said all four assailants had been killed, while local deputy governor Ali Hosein Hoseinzadeh said two were arrested. According to senior spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, senior spokesman for Iran's armed forces, "All four terrorists were quickly neutralised by security forces". Iran news agency's reports showed that three out of the four assailants were shot dead during the attack whereas the fourth died shortly later in the hospital, according to The Guardian. In a subsequent report, Fars News Agency said a fifth assailant was also killed but was initially mixed up with the victims. == Responsibility ==

Iranian state media initially reported that "takfiri gunmen" executed the assault. Two groups claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, including Arab separatist militant group the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ASMLA then decided to deny responsibility for the attack. Timeline of responsibility claims 22 September The claim of responsibility was first made through Iran International TV by Yaqoub al-Tostari, the spokesperson for the ASMLA who spoke to the television on air, on the same day. He said the attack was conducted "because of the establishment's tyranny against Ahvazis". ANR is identified as a name used by the ASMLA. Habib Jaber al-Ka'abi, an ASMLA leader based in Denmark, tweeted in support for the attack and said it was against a "legitimate target". Following the claim by ISIL, Yaqoub al-Tostari who spoke with Al Arabiya television as the ASMLA spokesperson said the ISIL involvement is false, adding that "The commando operation was carried out by the Ahzavi resistance movement. Civilians were killed as a result of indiscriminate gunfire from Iranian security forces", as quoted by BBC Monitoring on 22 September 2018 at 16:17 (GMT). 23 September A statement on the ASMLA website on 23 September denied responsibility for the attack, saying that the claim was made by a "group that was expelled from the organization since 2015". The denial happened after Iranian foreign ministry summoned the ambassadors of Denmark and the Netherlands in Tehran and protested them for hosting ASMLA. 26 September On 26 September, ISIL's Al Furqan Media Foundation, which publishes official announcements from ISIL leaders, published an audio statement titled "The Muwahhidin's Assault on the Tower of the Mushrikin" from spokesman Abul-Hasan Al-Muhajir, which claimed "A group of men of the Khilafah and guardians of the creed in the land of Persia have pounced in defense of the religion, acting to deter and suppress their enemy and to fulfill the Islamic State's promise to all who have the blood of Ahlus Sunnah on their hands." 27 September On 27 September, ISIL's newspaper al-Naba released what it claimed were photos of the five masked attackers. ==Reactions==

The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, wrote on his website: "This crime is a continuation of the plots of the regional states that are puppets of the United States, and their goal is to create insecurity in our dear country." Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said that Abdulla's comments were "irresponsible and thoughtless" and "could hold Abu Dhabi accountable". Khamenei alleged that the people responsible for the attack were paid by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The UAE has denied Iranian allegations that it had any links with the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he was horrified and presented his condolences, while the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the attack and warned those who finance terrorism in the region. Pakistan also condemned the attack through their foreign office's spokesman Mohammad Faisal. President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea Kim Yong-nam had presented his condolences. ==Aftermath==

Arrests On 24 September, Minister of Intelligence Mahmoud Alavi said that most of the persons behind the attack had been arrested. The Iranian intelligence ministry disclosed that 22 people attributed to the attack have been arrested, according to the BBC. The United Nations Security Council issued a statement condemning the terrorist attack and calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. General Hossein Salami of the Revolutionary Guard called Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States the "evil triangle". He said, "We warn all of those behind the story, we will take revenge." Funerals Thousands of Iranians attended a funeral for the victims on 24 September near Ahvaz's Sarallah Hussainiya. Some waved Iranian flags and held photographs of the victims. The funeral was described by ABC News as "a collective outpouring of grief." According to Fars News Agency, at least one missile was adorned with the slogans "death to America", "death to Israel" and "death to Al Saud". The attack was described as revenge for the people of Ahvaz. Brigadier Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claimed that 40 "top leaders" of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant were killed in the attack. But according to Colonel Sean Ryan, spokesman for the US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, the attack did no damage at all. Controversial video Fars News Agency, described by news media to be a "semi-official" news agency of the Government of Iran, published a video threatening the capitals of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with missile attacks by showing a graphic video of rifle scope closing in into the two cities. The video was published as Khamenei blamed Riyadh and Abu Dhabi for the attack. Tobias Billström, the Swedish Foreign Minister, reacted with "dismay" to the execution of Cha'ab, who was a Swedish-Iranian dual national. Sweden summoned Ahmad Masoumifar, Iran's acting ambassador to Sweden, in protest of the execution. ==See also==