Five die as the Zahedan subsidiary of Mehr Financial and Credit institute goes up in flames in the backdrop of a deadly terrorist attack on the city.
The victims were all Mehr employees who lost their lives after an arson attack set the building ablaze on Monday.
The southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan became the scene of feeding frenzy on Sunday after a group of Sunni hardliners took to the streets to object a decision by Mowlavi Abdolhamid, Sunni Friday Prayer Leader, to attend a memorial service for the victims of Thursday’s mosque bombing.
Rumors that Abdolhamid had been assassinated further intensified the protests, prompting rogue elements to attack and vandalize a number of public places.
Dozens of civilians were reportedly wounded in the clashes.
In the face of flaming violence, Iranian police authorities took evasive action and arrested the perpetrators of the turmoil.
“We have identified and arrested a number of rogue elements who sought to fuel insecurity in the city,” Mehr news agency quoted deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan as saying.
“Security has been restored to the city and we have everything under control,” Radan continued, while adding that the scoundrels were attempting to foment trouble and discord among the residents of the city.
The fresh wave of violence came only five days after a deadly terror attack on a Shia mosque killed 25 people and wounded 125 others.
The Pakistan-based Jundullah terror group has claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing, saying it was staged as part of their efforts to destabilize the country ahead of the June 12 elections.
While Jundullah terrorists flatly deny having links to Washington, an ABC news report in 2007 quoted US and Pakistani intelligence sources as saying that the terrorist group “has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials” to subvert the government in Iran.
According to the ABC report, Jundullah militants have been ordered to “stage deadly guerrilla raids inside the Islamic Republic, kidnap Iranian officials and execute them on camera” all as part of a “programmatic objective to overthrow the Iranian government”.
Investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, has also revealed in July that the US Congress had secretly agreed to US President, George W. Bush’s $400-million funding request for a major escalation in covert operations inside Iran.