TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran has said saboteurs opposed to the Islamic revolution were behind a rare car bomb explosion in Tehran two weeks ago that caused no casualties, a press report said on Monday.
"Those behind this blind action, in which a bomb was planted in a car located on the outskirts of Tehran, were aiming to show off," said Tehran province governor general deputy in charge of security, Ali Reza Fakhari.
The car bomb exploded in Tehran on May 26, causing damage to nearby buildings but no deaths, the Fars news agency reported at the time, adding that one person was arrested.
"The Islamic revolution has always been threatened by enemies with ill intentions," Fakhari added, quoted by the conservative Siasat-e Rouz newspaper.
"Thus it is natural that when our nation's situation is appropriate they carry out actions. But thanks to God their plan was not successful as no-one died."
Tehran was hit by a string of deadly attacks in the early years of the Islamic revolution in the 1980s blamed on the outlawed armed opposition that killed dozens of people, including several top officials.
But in recent years the city has enjoyed good security and even minor blasts of this nature are extremely unusual.
A blast on April 12 in the normally peaceful southern city of Shiraz that left 13 people dead and more than 200 wounded was initially said by the authorities to have been an accident.
But they later said it was caused by bombers who had confessed of links to Iran's arch enemies Israel and the United States, confirming the explosion was one of the worst attacks in the country in recent years.
"Tehran's security is favourable situation, despite the fact that we are always threatened and the enemies' threats are endless," said Fakhari.
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