Iran condemns Manchester terror attack; slams western approach

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi in a statement on Tuesday condemned the terrorist attack on Manchester Arena and voiced his deepest sympathies to the families of victims.

“We believe that the roots and ideological origins of such terrorist attacks as the one at Iran’s Mirjaveh or the one in England’s Manchester are one and the same,” Ghasemi said, adding “it is imperative for all countries who have fallen victim to the extremist and terrorist acts and ideologies to unite for a serious, targeted and sincere fight against Takfiri terrorism.”

He went on to add, “one consequence of forming convenient and formal coalitions and pointing the finger at the wrong perpetrators and sponsors of terrorism and extremism is the cancerous spread of this scourge all across the world.”

Terrorism will not be eradicated unless through firm resolve and by creating a comprehensive mechanism void of double standards, he stressed.

An attack by a suicide bomber has killed 22 people and injured 59 at concert in Manchester on Monday night in the worst terrorism incident in the UK since 2006. Speculations indicate the attack was more likely the work of a lone-wolf than international terror networks.