Iran ready to help Tajikistan probe terrorist attack: Foreign Ministry

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi has slammed a terrorist attack in Tajikistan that killed four Western tourists, expressing Tehran's readiness to help Dushanbe investigate the incident.

"We condemn any act of terror in different parts of the world, including the recent incident against foreign tourists in Tajikistan," Qassemi said on Tuesday.

He also criticized accusations made in a statement by Tajikistan's interior ministry against Iran.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly denies any link with this incident and the existence of any base inside its territory for training [terrorists to carry out] acts of sabotage," the Iranian spokesperson said.

Iran is also ready to cooperate with Tajik authorities to investigate all aspects of the terrorist attack, he added.

Two Americans, a Dutch and a Swiss citizen were killed Sunday about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Dushanbe after being struck by a car and attacked on a popular cycling route. The Daesh terrorist group on Monday claimed responsibility for the attack. After the crash, the attackers also stabbed their victims.

Tajikistan's security forces killed four suspected attackers on Monday and detained one. In a statement on Tuesday, the interior ministry said it had detained four more suspects and claimed that the attackers’ leader had been trained in Iran.

Qassemi dismissed such baseless and unfounded allegations, saying that the claims are detrimental to cordial relations between Iran and Tajikistan.

He expressed hope that the two countries would strengthen relations and would not allow enemies to damage ties by raising such issues.

Police in Tajikistan blamed an outlawed opposition party for the car-ramming attack and said in a statement on Tuesday that a detained man, identified as the mastermind of the attack was an “active member” of the so-called Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, which was outlawed by the country’s supreme court in 2015.

EA