TEHRAN – Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, has condemned a terrorist attack on Kabul University that killed at least 35 people, most of them students.

“The dark ideology and the bloodstained hands of terrorists and their supporters targeted the future of Afghanistan and the pure souls of its children. Iran stands by the people and government of Afghanistan in the comprehensive fight against terrorism and extremism,” Khatibzadeh said in a tweet on Tuesday evening.

Several gunmen attacked Kabul University on Monday, shooting at the students in their classroom and clashing with security forces for hours. The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. In a message on the Telegram messaging app, an account claiming to belong to ISIL said they had “killed and injured 80 Afghan judges, investigators, and security personnel” who had been gathered for an event at the Faculty of Law, according to an Aljazeera report.

The attack came at a time when intra-Afghan peace talks are still ongoing in Doha. The Taliban were quick to disavow and denounce the attack.

 “Certainly, such attacks are carried out by evil elements that were defeated in Nangarhar and Jowzjan provinces,” the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement that alluded to their rival force Daesh.

Afghanistan’s first Vice President Amrullah Saleh accused the Taliban on Tuesday of orchestrating the attack, an accusation that the Taliban has rejected as an attempt by Saleh to defame the armed group, which has signed a peace deal with the United States and is in the midst of peace negotiations with the Afghan government.

In addition to Khatibzadeh, the Iranian Parliament’s speaker also expressed sympathy with Afghanistan over the terrorist attack. The speaker said the United States was directly responsible for the attack because it has founded the Daesh terrorist group.

“The American and Zionist killers who created Daesh, and the financiers of Daesh in the region and their supporters, are directly responsible for all crimes of Daesh. Any step toward empowering these criminals amounts to being enemy of peace, prosperity, and stability in the region,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a tweet.

He added, “The crimes of Daesh against the treasured sons of Afghanistan have touched the hearts of all of us, but we are happy that the zealous and brave youth of Afghanistan will finally eradicate the founders, perpetrators, and supporters of terrorism and occupation in Afghanistan.”

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the deputy foreign minister of Iran, also expressed sympathy with the victims of the attack on Kabul University.

“Today I recorded my sympathy and condolences in the Afghanistan Embassy following the barbaric attack on Kabul University which claimed lives of 20+ innocent students. Takfiri terrorism has only produced bloodshed and insecurity everywhere in the region and beyond,” the deputy foreign minister said in a tweet on Wednesday.

SM/PA