Tehran, Iran:  Iran's supreme leader has blamed the West for a deadly suicide bombing at a mosque this week, saying the attack aimed to cause rifts among Muslims and halt Iran's nuclear activities.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, quoted by the state news agency IRNA on Friday, says "arrogant powers" were behind the attack, a term used for the West. He says the enemy "does not want the unity of Muslims" and "does not want to see uranium enrichment in our country."

The suicide attack killed 39 people in the southeastern port of Chahbahar. The Sunni militant group Jundallah took the responsibility for the bombing. The United States and other Western countries condemned the attack.

Iran has often accused the US and its allies of backing Jundallah.