A senior Iranian parliamentarian on Saturday slated the country's security personnel for failing to stop a mass shooting attack that killed 25 last week in the city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said Iranian snipers tasked with protecting the event had not acted decisively and hesitated to intervene after being ordered to shoot, the semi-official news agency ISNA reported.
"There were eight or nine sharpshooters who could have killed the terrorists within 30 seconds...but one of them couldn't believe there was a terrorist attack and thought blanks were fired, and said he had received no order to shoot," Mr Falahatpisheh, head of parliament's national security committee, said.
"He fails to shoot even after being ordered," Mr Falahatpisheh said, describing the events as shown in the video which he said was produced by the army and the Intelligence Ministry.
Tehran had already accused an array of parties for perpetrating or having a hand in the attack.
There have been two claims of responsibility for the gun assault, including one by ISIS.
Here is what we know about the accusations and claims.
- Separatist movements -
Soon after the attack, the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps accused the Al Ahwaziya movement of culpability.
Al Ahwaziya is an Arab separatist movement from Khuzestan province - an Arab-majority province in south Iran on the border with Iraq - but it comprises various groups.
On Saturday, London-based opposition channel Iran International TV broadcast a claim of responsibility by a group called the Ahvaz National Resistance.
Two other regional separatist movements - the Ahwazi Democratic Popular Front and the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz - made statements denying any involvement.
- The blame game -
President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday accused an unnamed Gulf country of giving financial, armed and political support to the instigators of the attack.
The same day, Iran's foreign ministry summoned the UAE's charge d'affaires over what it called "offensive remarks" by a political adviser. Abu Dhabi denied any link to the attack.
Iran has strained relations with the UAE, while diplomatic ties with Bahrain and regional rival Saudi Arabia have been broken since 2016.
On Saturday, Iran summoned diplomats from Denmark, the Netherlands and Britain, accusing these countries of hosting "terrorist group members" responsible for the attack.
In a statement on Sunday, the Revolutionary Guard pointed the finger of blame at a "Western-Hebrew-Arabic satanic triangle".
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the attack was carried out by "terrorists recruited, trained, armed & paid by a foreign regime".
"Iran holds regional terror sponsors and their US masters accountable for such attacks," he wrote on Twitter.
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei described the attack as the continuation of a "conspiracy by regional governments in the pay of the US".
- ISIS -
ISIS claimed its first attack in Iran on June 7, 2017, when gunmen and suicide bombers hit the parliament in Tehran and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing 17 people and wounding dozens.
On Wednesday, ISIS threatened to carry out new attacks in the Islamic republic.
Iran is "flimsier than a spider's web, and with God's help, what comes will be worse and more bitter", the group said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
In a video released in March 2017, the extremist group threatened to retaliate against Iran for its military and logistical support to the Syrian and Iraqi governments, as Damascus and Baghdad battled ISIS insurgencies.
The have said they want to conquer Iran to "return it to the Sunni Muslim nation" and to provoke a Shiite bloodbath.
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15
Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered
UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered
Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered
Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered
Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered
Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Maestro
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
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How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
