A United Arab Emirates newspaper has said the two coordinated attacks on the Iranian parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic, that left 13 dead and more than 40 people seriously injured, were vicious acts of terror.
The English language daily 'Gulf News'said in a commentary today that the they were appalling attacks that killed and wounded innocent people who did not deserve to die, adding that the targets were deliberately chosen as key symbols of the Iranian state.
"Khomeini’s tomb is where the venerated founder of the republic is buried, and the parliament is one of the vital seats of government in the country. By striking at sites that encapsulate the Islamic republic’s vision of itself, the terrorists sought to diminish the Iranian state and mock at its aspirations," the paper said.
This was the first time that terrorists had attacked Iranian targets, and it is the first time that Iran has shared the same pain that so many other countries have had to endure for years as terror has gained sway over large tracts of the Arab world. Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) has claimed responsibility for the attack, as it has for so many other targeted acts of horror through the Middle East and in other parts of the world.
But one reason for the chaos and anarchy that plagues a large part of the Arab homeland has been Iranian interference. This chaos has helped terrorists find ungoverned areas where they can establish local authority and set up permanent operational bases, and in some places establish a civil governance that gives them a spurious claim to authority. Iran has backed Hezbollah in its role in fighting in Syria as it saved the floundering President Bashar Al Assad in the civil war. Iranian-backed militias have played a major part in Iraq’s wars, giving Iran an unnatural and malign influence over the Iraqi government, and Iran has supported Al Houthi rebels in Yemen, where the Saudi led coalition has had to intervene to support the legitimate government.
The paper said it was a mistake for Iran to blame Saudi Arabia for the attack.
"The Saudis, along with many other Arab states, are in the vanguard of the assault on terror and this is the wrong time to inflame the already heated atmosphere. We all mourn the dead in the Tehran attacks, but the Iranian government should recognise where the horror has come from and join the efforts to exterminate the threat of terror from the region by stopping interference in the internal affairs of Arab states," it concluded.

Source: WAM