Iran seeks retaliation for bombings

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency identified the deputy commander of the Guard's ground forces, Gen. Noor Ali Shooshtari, and a chief provincial Guard commander for the area, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh, as two of the victims of the attack in the Pistin region of Sistan-Baluchistan province, on Iran's border with Pakistan. Ten local tribal leaders also perished in the attack. The victims were en route to a meeting to promote ethnic and religious unity in the province, which has been wracked by sporadic violence by ethnic Baluch Sunni Muslims.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of the Revolutionary Guard, vowed a "crushing" response to the bombing. "Behind this scene are the American and British intelligence apparatus and there will have to be retaliatory measures to punish them," he added.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed those responsible for Sunday's bombing are hiding in Pakistan and demanded that the Pakistani government arrest them. The Sunni rebel group Jundallah ("Soldiers of God"), which has been waging a low-level insurgency to protest the Iranian government's treatment of Baluchis, claimed responsibility for the attack via a posting on an Islamist Web site that usually carries statements from al-Qaeda.

For its part, the United States condemned the attack and vehemently denied Jafari's accusations. "We condemn this act of terrorism and mourn the loss of innocent lives. Reports of alleged U.S. involvement are completely false," U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a brief statement.

By Sandy Smith