IRAN: Preacher says bomb caused Shiraz explosion

The preacher who was speaking to followers when a deadly blast went off in his southern Iran mosque Saturday night told an Iranian news agency that the explosion was definitely a bomb. Some Iranian authorities said the explosion in the southern city of Shiraz could have been an accident caused by munitions left as props to commemorate the Iran-Iraq war.

Meanwhile, amateur video of the blast has emerged. Check it out below:

Mohammed Anjavinejad, a mid-ranking cleric who heads an organization that opposes Sunni extremists and Bahais, told the Persian-language Alef News Agency that the blast that interrupted his speech was "without a doubt" caused by a bomb.

Here's a link to the Persian-language Alef news site item and another to an Al Jazeera English report citing the interview. 

Anjavinejad said that some in Shiraz were trying to portray the blast as an accident in order to protect the city's image as a safe haven.

He said eyewitnesses among the hundreds attending his group's Saturday evening gathering saw an unknown person place an object and quickly leave the scene.

He blamed Wahhabi Sunni extremists and Bahais, a faith considered heretical in Iran, for the explosion, which killed 12 people and injured more than 200.

— Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Video: Amateur footage of the April 12 explosion in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz.

Comments

[Kiumars]

To: james | April 15, 2008 at 07:46 AM
I support my government because they represent me and my views; I elected them and now support them. You may not agree with my views but you cannot call me an agent for supporting my government. I am entitled to my views and expressing them even if you do not like it, this is called freedom of expression.
Don’t watch too much Foxnews, name calling does not get you anywhere when debating intelligent people.

[james]

Well, whether or not Bahais are the largest religious minority, they are pacifists (and thus clearly not associated with a bombing, as the mad mullah in the article suggested) and they are viciously persecuted by the Islamist theocracy running Iran. Kiumars sounds like a government agent.

[Kiumars]

My reply to Mohamad Tehrani’s comment; Sir you must be joking when you say The Baha'is is the largest religious minority in Iran; well you are either joking or very misinformed. 8% of Iranians are Sunni, 1% Christians and 1% other religions like Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Mandaeanism, Yarsan (Ahl-e Haqq), Hinduism, and Sikhism. The rest of the misinformation you provided is as inaccurate as your main claim I am afraid.
As for the article I think police is trying to cool people down because if it was really a bomb then people may decide to take the law in their own hands and revenge and virtually wipe off any group or minority behind the bombing.

[Mohamad Tehrani]

Let's hope the Iranian government does not scapegoat the Baha'is. The Baha'is, the largest religious minority in Iran, have faced the harshest oppression by the Islamic regime. They cannot go to university, their children are harassed in schools, their cemeteries destroyed, they are denied access to many jobs, and their rights are not recognized. Moreover, the Iranian government slanders their religion in the media with the objective of spreading disinformation. The Baha'is are recognized as peaceful and pacifists. The persecution of the Baha'is is a tragedy all us Iranians.