TEHRAN — While condemning the terrorist crime in the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in the northeastern city of Mashhad, the interior minister stressed that the terrorist and Takfiri movements and the promoters of this ideology will be dealt with severely.

In an interview with the state TV on Friday, Ahmad Vahidi condemned the Tuesday brutal terrorist attack in the holy shrine.

He stressed the need to prosecute the perpetrators of the terrorist crime, saying, “This was a very heinous terrorist operation that took place against three hard-working clerics who served the people.” 

The minister continued by saying that this ugly, bitter and terrorist incident showed that the enemy has not stopped promoting terrorism in the region.”

He then pointed out that terrorism in the West Asian region is a kind of Takfirism nurtured by the arrogant imperialism.

“They have created Daesh and other terrorist groups, and their ideological source is either directly or indirectly the same arrogant movement that acts in the form of Takfiris.”

Vahidi stated that the Takfiri movement carries out “terrorist attacks in a holy place during the holy month of Ramadan and targets innocent people without any reason."

The interior minister blamed the West for creating the Takfiri movement, stressing, “Undoubtedly, this movement is a branch of the global arrogance that we condemn.” 

Vahidi went on to emphasize that this incident shows that the clergy has always been the pioneer in serving the people and also at the forefront of confronting the enemy.

Vahidi continued by saying that the enemy is trying to incite the religious and ethnic differences of friendly nations in the region by creating such terrorist movements, but it will not succeed in achieving its goals.

“The best of the Afghan youth lost their lives in the fight against the Takfiris, and the resilient nation of Afghanistan stood up to the arrogant movements and expelled the United States from the region,” the minister continued. 

Vahidi also said that this crime does not harm the position of the Afghan people in the eyes of the Iranian nation. 

“The people of Iran and Afghanistan have a common history of civilization and good relations have been established between the two countries,” he noted.

The minister stated that arrogant countries are trying to damage Iran's relations with its neighbors, including Afghanistan, but certainly they will not succeed.

Vahidi stressed that the terrorist act in the holy shrine of Imam Reza has been condemned by all Afghan officials and Sunni scholars.

“We do not expect Western countries to condemn this crime because they support terrorist events,” he concluded. 

In an unprecedented knife attack at the courtyard the Imam Reza shrine on Tuesday, three clerics were seriously injured. One of the clerics died on the same day and another succumbed to his injuries two days later. Reportedly, the third one is in a stable condition.

The assailant was arrested immediately after the attack. The terrorist attack took place on the third day of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Mashhad’s Prosecutor General Mohammed Hossein Doroudi said four other people besides the attacker have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The assailant, named Abdollatif Moradi, is a 21-year-old Uzbek national who illegally entered Iran through Pakistan. Videos of him is being circulated in the media that shows he was influenced by Takfiri and Wahhabi ideology.

The motivation behind this terrorist attack is under investigation. 

Many high-ranking officials condemned the attack, calling for unity among Sunnis and Shias. 

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi said, “Those who were hostile were from the Takfiri movement, and the colonialists and hypocrites must not be allowed to abuse ethnic and religious issues to sow discord between Muslims and the people of our country with neighbors; because sowing discord is one of the old methods of the colonialists.”

The spokesman for the Taliban condemned the stabbing attack on clergymen, saying the fatal incident had nothing to do with the Afghans and Afghanistan.

In a post on his Twitter account, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the “Islamic Emirate” of Afghanistan condemns the recent attack on clergymen at a pilgrimage site in Iran.

“This has nothing to do with the Afghans and Afghanistan,” he said.