Iran summoned the envoys of the Netherlands, Denmark and Britain late on Saturday over a deadly terrorist attack on a military parade in the country's southwest.
Earlier in the day, gunmen disguised as soldiers targeted a stand in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, where officials and spectators had gathered to watch an annual event marking the start of the 1980-88 Iraq-imposed war.
At least 24 people, including women, children and members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, were killed and more than 60 were wounded.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said Iran's strong protest against the harboring of members of Al-Ahvaziya terrorist group—which claimed responsibility for the assault—by the Netherlands and Denmark was conveyed to their ambassadors in separate meetings, IRNA reported.
Members of the group, which is an umbrella organization of all the province's militant groups, are believed to be scattered across several European countries.
The group claimed that the attack was a response to the alleged suppression of Ahvazi Arabs. Iran denies discriminating against religious or ethnic minorities.
Qasemi said, "It is not acceptable that this terrorist group is not listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, as long as they have not carried out an atrocity on European soil."
The Dutch and Danish governments were asked to extradite those connected to the attack to Iran so that they face justice in court, he added.
According to the spokesman, the British charge d'affaires, summoned in the ambassador's absence, was told it was unacceptable that "the spokesman for the Al-Ahvaziya mercenary group was allowed to claim responsibility for the terrorist act through a London-based TV network".
Irresponsible Comments and Global Condemnation
The Foreign Ministry also summoned the UAE's charge d'affaires on Sunday over the "irresponsible" comments by an Emirati official following the bloodshed in Ahvaz.
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an adviser to Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, justified the attack, writing on Twitter that "attacking a military target is not a terrorist act" and "moving the battle deeper inside Iran is a declared option".
He said attacks of this kind "will increase during the next phase", Al Jazeera reported.
Speaking to reporters before leaving Tehran to attend the UN General Assembly in New York, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will thwart US plots aimed at creating insecurity in the country.
He accused US-backed "small puppet countries in the region" of providing support to terrorist groups, stressing that Washington is inciting such attacks.
A number of officials, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, offered their sympathies to the victims and condemnation of the attack, while the United States offered a muted response.
Neither the White House nor the US State Department released statements within the first few hours of the attack.
