Iran condemns deadly Daesh attack in Barcelona

EghtesadOnline: Iran has condemned a Daesh terror attack that left over a dozen people dead in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona, saying it is time for the world to build a united front against terrorism.

News ID: ۷۴۳۳۴۷

19 August 2017

In a Friday statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi voiced sympathy with the Spanish government and nation as well as the bereaved families of the victims and those injured in the car ramming attack, PressTV reported.

At least 13 people were killed and some 100 others wounded when an assailant rammed a van into a crowd in central Barcelona. The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has claimed responsibility.

“After suffering successive defeats on the battlefield in the [Middle East] region, extremists have now placed indiscriminate terror attacks around the world on their agenda,” which targets innocent civilians, said Qassemi.

“Now, no country, not even the overt and covert supporters of terrorists, could feel immune to this international scourge and wretched plight,” the official added.

The official further called on all peaceable countries, which seek a sincere fight against terrorism, to form a “united global alliance against violence, instability and terror.”

In doing so, the countries need to set differences aside and prioritize the fight against and the annihilation of “these merchants of death and hatred,” he added.

Iran, as a victim of terrorism which has invariably fought on the frontline against this phenomenon, is prepared to offer a helping hand to the international community in this regard, Qassemi added.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s resistance movement of Hezbollah also condemned the attack, calling for pressure on regional and international players to stop their support for terrorism, Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television channel reported.

“The crime in the city of Barcelona serves as another testament to the group’s criminal temperament,” the group said. “Killing of civilians is part of the evil plans, which Takfiris’ implement [in an attempt] to tarnish the image of pure Islam.”

Daesh has been trying to force its way into Europe over the past years, staging heinous terrorist operations across the continent, mainly in France and Belgium, where it has killed dozens of civilians in bombings and gun attacks.