Iran official denies link to deadly Tajikistan attack

By Mustafa Mellih Ahsahali

TEHRAN (AA) - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasimi on Tuesday ruled out any links between the Iranian government and a Sunday attack in Tajikistan that targeted a group of foreign tourists.

According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Qasimi condemned Sunday’s terrorist attack, describing allegations that the attackers had been trained in Iran as “baseless”.

The allegations, Qasimi said, were intended to harm relations between the two countries.

Earlier Tuesday, Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry blamed the country’s outlawed Islamic Renaissance Party for Sunday’s attack, which reportedly left four western tourists dead.

The ministry went on to assert that group members had “received training in Iran with a view to carrying out subversive attacks”.