Demands Pakistan hands over rebel leader Abdolmalek Rigi
The death toll from the suicide attack climbed to 42

ISLAMABAD (Agencies)

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards promised a "crushing" response to an attack that killed several senior commanders, state television said on Monday, as the death toll from the deadliest such incident in years rose to 42.

The head of the Guards said that Tehran will demand that Pakistan hand over militant rebel leader Abdolmalek Rigi, accused of being the mastermind of a deadly bombing.

General Mohammad Ali Jafari said a Tehran delegation will head to Pakistan and deliver "proof to them so they know that the Islamic Republic is aware of its (Pakistan) support" to the group led by Rigi.

"The delegation will ask for him (Rigi) to be handed over," Jafari was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.
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"Trained and equipped"
" Pakistan is not involved in terrorist activities ... we are striving to eradicate this menace "
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit

In neighboring Pakistan, a Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned Sunday's suicide bombing in southeastern Iran near the Pakistani border and denied suggestions from Iran that security agents in Pakistan were cooperating with the perpetrators.

The attack in Sistan-Baluchestan province, which killed the deputy head of the Guards' ground forces, highlighted deepening instability in a region of mainly Shiite Muslim Iran bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Pakistan is not involved in terrorist activities ... we are striving to eradicate this menace," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told the Daily Times newspaper on Sunday.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the "ghastly act of terrorism" in Iran, Gilani's office said.

State television said Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat in Tehran, saying there was evidence "the perpetrators of this attack came to Iran from Pakistan".

"The Pakistani official assured Tehran that his country would take all measures to secure its border with Iran," English-language Press TV added.

Jafari also charged that Rigi was taking orders from the intelligence services of Britain, Pakistan and the United States.

"The group of Rigi has direct contact with the American and British intelligence services and unfortunately the Pakistani intelligence service," Jafari said.

"He is supported by them and without doubt he is acting under their orders and plans."
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Good bilateral relations
" We were informed that some security agents in Pakistan are cooperating with the main elements of this terrorist incident ... We regard it as our right to demand these criminals from them "
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Relations between Iran and Pakistan have been generally good in recent years and the neighbors are cooperating on plans to build a natural gas pipeline link.

But Iran has in the past accused Pakistan of hosting members of the Sunni insurgent group Jundollah, Iranian state television said. Iranian media say Jundollah claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing.

Some analysts believe Jundollah has evolved through shifting alliances with various parties, including the Taliban and Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, who saw the group as a tool against Iran.

Pakistan has in the past backed Sunni Muslim militant groups, particularly in Afghanistan in the 1980s, when it supported militants battling Soviet occupiers.

Pakistan also supported militants who have been battling Indian security forces in the disputed Kashmir region.

Both Afghanistan and India say Pakistan has maintained links to some militant groups.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying security agents in Pakistan were cooperating with the militants behind Sunday's bombing, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

"We were informed that some security agents in Pakistan are cooperating with the main elements of this terrorist incident ... We regard it as our right to demand these criminals from them," Ahmadinejad said, without giving details.

Ahmadinejad called on Pakistan not to waste time in cooperating with Iran in apprehending the perpetrators.

Alarabiya.net