Dubai: The terrorist attack on the Shiite Imam Hussain Mosque in the Iranian town of Chahbahar — the bloodiest in the three-year confrontation between the government and a local Sunni militant group — marks a new chapter in the troubled relations between the two sects in the Islamic republic, analysts said.
Redha Al Basha, Arab political analyst and a journalist in Tehran, said Jundallah (The Soldiers of God), which vowed earlier this year to avenge the execution of one of its leaders, Abdul Malek Al Rigi on June 20, seems to have gone a long way to fulfilling its promise.
But the Iranian government may not have the same view. Although Jundallah claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack, Iranian officials blamed an intelligence service which it did not name for masterminding the attack in which 39 people were killed and 50 injured.
It also blamed the US and Israel for supporting Jundallah.
The US has listed Jundallah as a terrorist group in what many analysts believe was meant to defuse tension with Iran and help resolve the nuclear standoff.
The attacks, one of which was foiled by the mosque's security involved a suicide bomber who blew himself up near a Red Crescent ambulance. Prayers were being held throughout the day as Shiites observed Ashura.
Dr Hassan Hashimiyan, professor of political science at Azad University and a political analyst, said there was no doubt that the US wanted to see some political unrest in Iran, but the Jundallah had been functioning and flourishing on the growing sectarian differences in the whole region.
Timeline: Terror attacks
February 18, 2009: A suspect attempted to detonated an explosive device inside a mosque in the central city of Zahedan. He headed to a nearby kitchen and placed the explosives down, after he was denied entrance to the mosque. Minor damage was reported but no casualties.
May 28, 2009: 19 killed 80 injured in explosion at a Shiite mosque in Zahedan.
June 20, 2009: 1 killed 2 injured as a suicide bomb explodes at the shrine of former Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
July, 15, 2010: 28 killed and more than 300 injured in bombings targeting worshippers celebrating a Shiite occasion at a mosque in Zahedan.
October 18, 2010: 5 died 9 were injured in firing on a police petrol vehicle and pedestrians in the Azadi square of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province.
Fact file: Jundallah of Iran
Literally meaning Soldiers of Allah is also known as People's Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI) is a Bluchistan-based organisation that claims to fight for Sunni Muslim in Iran. It is believed to have more than 1000 fighters.
Founded by Abdul Malek Rigi in 2003, the organisation conducted a number of attacks against Iranian soldiers, but many civilians were killed as a result to those attacks.
Rigi was captured and executed in June 2010. Iran Said Rigi was responsible for killing more than 400 Iranian soldiers
