Iran warns US, Israel against revenge after parade attack

LONDON (Reuters) – The Iranian Revolutionary Guards' deputy warned US and Israeli leaders on Monday to await a "devastating" response from Tehran, accusing them of participating in a military attack in Ahvaz.

Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Ahvaz city in southwestern Iran to mourn the victims of Saturday's assault, which killed 25 people, including 12 guardsmen. revolution.

The aggression, one of the worst attacks on the most powerful military force in the Islamic Republic, has dealt a blow to its security forces at a time when the United States and its Gulf allies are working to isolate Tehran.

"You have seen our revenge before … You will see that our response will be overwhelming and devastating and you will regret what you have done," Hossein Salami said in a speech to the funeral of the victims in Ahvaz, broadcast live TV from # 39; State.

Iran's intelligence minister, Mahmoud Alavi, said an important network of suspects had already been arrested in connection with the attack, the Mizan judicial news agency reported.

Iran declared Monday a day of national mourning. Public offices, banks, schools and universities will be closed in Khuzestan province.

Four attackers opened fire on an audio-visual medium in Ahvaz, where Iranian officials had gathered to attend an annual event marking the beginning of the war between the Islamic Republic of 1980 and Iraq.

ISIS's Amaq agency posted a video of three men in a vehicle that it said were leading the attack.

A man wearing a baseball cap wearing what appears to be a Revolutionary Guard logo evoked the impending Farsi attack in the video.

"We are Muslims, they are kafirs (unbelievers)," says the man. He adds, "We are going to destroy them with a strong guerrilla attack, inshallah (God willing)."

Ahvaz National Resistance, an Iranian Arab ethnic opposition movement seeking a separate state in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, has also claimed responsibility.

Senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said the Ahvaz attack was carried out by militants formed by the Gulf states and Israel, and backed by America.

But it is unlikely that the IRGC strikes one of these enemies directly.

The guards could show strength in firing missiles at opposition groups operating in Iraq or Syria, which could be linked to militants who staged the attack.

They are also likely to enforce a strict security policy in Khuzestan province, stopping any national opponent, including civil rights activists.