TEHRAN — Following a deadly terrorist attack in Afghanistan's Kunduz, which resulted in the death of scores of worshippers on Friday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that this “heinous crime” has “saddened” him.

"Authorities in neighboring and brotherly country of Afghanistan are seriously expected to punish the bloodthirsty perpetrators of the heinous crime and take the necessary measures to prevent a recurrence of such tragedies,” the Leader stated in his message.

Iranian president censures deadly terrorist act  

Also, in a message of condolences on Saturday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi strongly condemned the killing and injury of worshippers in Kunduz.

The state-run Bakhtar news agency said the attack had killed 46 people and wounded 143. However, two health officials told Reuters the death toll could be between 70 and 80.

Responsibility for the blast in Kunduz, the capital of the province of the same name in the northeast of the country, was claimed by the Islamic State’s local affiliate, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which has a long history of attacking Afghanistan’s Shia minority. Shias make up about 15-20% of the Afghan population.

Raisi said this crime was “committed by those whose anti-human and anti-religious nature is obvious to everyone.” 

Below is the text of Raisi’s message:

“I offer my condolences to the people of Afghanistan and the entire human society on the martyrdom and injury of a large number of innocent people of Afghanistan who were praying in a holy place.

This crime, which was committed at the beginning of Rabi’, the month of unity among Muslims, with the aim of sowing discord among Muslims, was committed by those whose anti-human and anti-religious nature is obvious to everyone. It is no secret that the development of this Takfiri terrorist movement has taken place with the support and plans of the United States, and in recent years, the United States has facilitated the expansion of the activities of ISIS criminals in Afghanistan and prevented their eradication.

I hereby express my concern over the continuation of terrorist acts and the combination of religious agitation with ethnic agitation, which is part of the new U.S. security project for Afghanistan, and emphasize that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as in the past, is ready to provide full support to our Afghan brothers and sisters, and we hope that with the vigilance of the Afghan groups and the formation of an inclusive government, a large part of this plot is thwarted and, God willing, the Afghan people will be able to see peace.