Terrorists opened fire on people watching a military parade held to mark the invasion of Iran by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Husyan during the 1980s.
The Saudi-backed al-Ahwaziyah terror group, which is based in Europe, has claimed responsibility for the assault.
The text of Ayatollah Jannati’s message is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
The bitter and unfortunate terrorist attack in Ahvaz, which resulted in the martyrdom and wounding of a group of armed forces and innocent and dear people, is a source of intense heartfelt sorrow and pain.
This terrible crime, while proving the evil union between the mercenary terrorist groups, the reactionary governments of the region and the arrogant powers of the world centred on the United States, once again, demonstrated the legitimacy and state of oppression of the honourable nation of Iran to the world on the anniversary of the prideful epic of the Sacred Defence [Iran-Iraq War].
I convey my condolences to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei] and the honourable people of Islamic Iran, especially the survivors and families of the martyrs, and pray to God Almighty to grant full health to the wounded. I demand a serious security and judicial pursuit of the agents and planners of this terrorist and inhumane incident by the responsible authorities.
The malicious and arrogant officials and weak mercenaries know that this historical experience is the testimony of the increasing dignity and solidarity of the Iranian nation against the masterminds of this events and the dignified period of the Sacred Defence is a gift of the same solidarity and dignity which arose from the school of Ashura.
Ahmad Jannati
Chairman of the Assembly of Experts and Secretary of the Guardian Council