Iran's Khamenei Calls on Muslims to Fight 'Terrorism' Fuelled by US and UK
THE TELEGRAPH: Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called on Muslims to fight the "blind and savage terrorism" fuelled by the United States and Britain, whom he blamed for deadly bombings of an Iranian mosque.

Photograph: The Telegraph
"In our region ... the blind and savage terrorism is born out of the evil policies of the United States, Britain and their state and non-state mercenaries," Khamenei said in a statement marking the seventh day of mourning for victims of the bombings of a Shiite mosque in southeastern Iran.

"All Muslims are required to combat and confront this evil and sinister offspring which is the epitome of corruption on earth and of waging war against God," he said in the statement read out on state television.

On Thursday, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shiite mosque in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing 28 people and wounding hundreds.

Sunni rebel group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) said it carried out the attacks to avenge the execution of its militant leader Abdolmalek Rigi in Tehran's Evin prison on June 20.

Jundallah says it is fighting for the rights of the Sunni Baluchis who make up a significant population in Sistan-Baluchestan. Tehran has blamed the group for several such deadly attacks over the past few years.

Iranian officials say that Jundallah, and particularly its executed leader Rigi, received support from US, British, Israeli and Pakistani intelligence services for launching cross-border attacks inside Iran.

Khamenei repeated the accusation, blaming US, Britain and Israeli spy agencies for the latest bombings in Zahedan despite Washington and the European Union leading a chorus of condemnation of the attacks. >>> | Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Iran Executes Sunni Leader Abdolmalek Rigi
Captured Iranian Sunni militant Abdolmalek Rigi speaking in a taped statement on Iranian state TV. Photograph: The Times
THE TIMES: The Iranian Sunni militant leader Abdolmalek Rigi, who waged a deadly insurgency in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, has been hanged in prison.

“After the decision of the Tehran revolutionary tribunal, Abdolmalek Rigi was hanged on Sunday morning in Evin prison,” the state news agency IRNA said.

It quoted a court statement as saying: “The head of the armed counter-revolutionary group in the east of the country ... was responsible for armed robbery, assassination attempts, armed attacks on the army and police and on ordinary people, and murder.”

The hanging came after authorities exhausted legal requirements following months of interrogation and trial on charges of “being corrupt on earth; for waging a bloody campaign in Iran’s southeast”.

Mr Rigi, leader of the Sunni militant group called Jundallah (Soldiers of God) [جندالله], was arrested in February by Iranian intelligence agents while flying from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan. Read on and comment >>> Claire Sweeney | Monday, June 21, 2010

Iran 'Executes Sunni Militants'
BBC: Iran has executed 13 members of a Sunni rebel group blamed for a spate of attacks in the south-east of the country, Iran's state news agency says.

They were members of Jundallah (God's Soldiers). The execution of the brother of their leader was postponed, the agency reported.

Tehran blames the group for a series of attacks including the bombing of a mosque in May which killed 25 people.

Amnesty International had appealed for a stay of execution.

It said that the convicts had not received a fair trial.

Ebrahim Hamidi, who heads the judiciary in south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, told the official Irna news agency on Tuesday that 13 of the group had been hanged inside a jail in the city of Zahedan.

"After last minute consultations, the executions were carried out in a prison," Mr Hamidi is quoted as saying.

Fars, a semi-official news agency, had earlier reported that the executions would be carried out in public.

Abdolhamid Rigi, the brother of the group's leader Abdolmalek Rigi, was not among those hanged on Tuesday but would be executed later this week, the report said. >>> | Tuesday, July 14, 2009