TEHRAN- Iran has vehemently denounced a terrorist attack on a political rally in northwest Pakistan that resulted in at least 40 fatalities.

On Sunday, Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said that terrorists had perpetrated yet another atrocity in Pakistan, a close neighbor and friendly nation.

He extended Iran’s sympathy to the Pakistani government and nation as well as the bereaved families.

The Iranian spokesman noted that the Islamic Republic stands by Pakistan in tackling terrorism.

When more than 400 party members and supporters gathered under a tent in the town of Khar, close to the Afghan border, on Sunday, the bomb targeted the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) party in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.

Khar is located in the former tribal area of Bajaur.

Since last year, when a truce between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the government in Islamabad collapsed, there has been an increase in terrorist assaults in Pakistan.

The TTP swears allegiance to Taliban militants in Afghanistan. The Pakistani government accuses the Taliban government of supplying TTP terrorists with safe havens along the border.