Attack on Iranian Military Parade May Harden Domestic and Regional Policies by Chase Winter - Deutsche Welle
A deadly attack on an Iranian military parade may strengthen hardliners in the country and send already heightened tensions across the Middle East soaring, as Tehran points its finger at the United States and its Gulf Arab allies.
The rare attack claimed by Arab separatists killed 12 Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) members and 13 others in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province that is home to Shiite Iran's Sunni Arab minority. It was the deadliest attack in the country in nearly a decade.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed "mercenary terrorists" who carried out a crime in "continuation of the conspiracies by the US-backed regimes in the region," while the IRGC under his command vowed "deadly and unforgiving revenge," if need be abroad.
Iran did not name a particular Arab country, but the accusations appeared to be aimed at regional rivals Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
"The small puppet countries in the region are backed by America, and the United States is provoking them and giving them the necessary capabilities," President Hassan Rouhani said…