Iran FM blames 'foreign regime' backed by US for parade attack

At least eight Iranian revolutionary guards were killed after unknown gunmen opened fire during a military parade in Ahwaz city on Saturday, worldwide media reported.

The parade in Ahvaz, a city with a population of more than a million people, was one of many happening nationwide in honor of Sacred Defense Week, marking the 38th anniversary of Iran's eight-year war with Iraq. Soldiers crawled as gunfire crackled.

The Islamic State released a statement that claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack shortly after it occurred, though a separatist Arab militant group also claimed it was behind the attack.

Trump himself often offers quick responses on Twitter to suspected terrorist attacks, especially those that appear to have been perpetrated by the Islamic State extremist group. Neither claim provided evidence.

All four attackers were killed, state media said.

Qassemi said the British diplomat condemned the attack and said that he would accordingly relay Iran's message of protest to the authorities in London.

"He can blame us all he wants. The thing he's got to do is look in the mirror", she said.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) has been the sword and shield of Shia clerical rule in Iran since its 1979 Revolution.

Image People threw themselves on the ground as they tried to escape the gunfire

Ahvaz is the capital of the oil-rich province in Iran's southwest. Reuters could not immediately verify this account. Iran backs militant groups across the region.

May to pull out of the accord and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

"There are a number of nonmilitary victims, including women and children who had come to watch the parade", IRNA quoted an unnamed official source as saying.

In New York, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on Saturday that US sanctions were inflicting economic pain on Iran that could lead to a "successful revolution".

Giuliani's comments were in contrast with the Trump administration's policy of not seeking a change of government even though it is reimposing sanctions that are crippling Iran's economy. Shiite-dominated Iran considers the Al-Ahvazieh as a separatist and terrorist group supported by Saudi Arabia, its Sunni-majority arch rival in the Gulf. The Guards also play a major role in Iran's regional interests in countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Iran called on Denmark and the Netherlands to extradite the attack's "perpetrators and their accomplices" to stand trial in the Middle Eastern country, IRNA said, citing foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi.

"They are fed by saudi Arabia, and they have tried to overshadow the power of the armed forces", the iranian, he added.