Rouhani on Beirut Bombs: Mistaken Are Those Who Think Terrorism Guarantees Achieving Goals
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday commented on the double blast that rocked the Beirut neighborhood of Bir Hassan, stating that whomever thinks terrorism achieves its goals “is mistaken.”
"Those who believe through terrorism and assassinations and violence can achieve their goals are mistaken,” Rouhani said at a meeting of the Iranian cabinet.
He added: “This time again they are committing a mistake.”
"We must say to the attackers that the people of the region have adopted a united stand of solidarity and resilience in front of aggressions and we will not abandon this path.”
The Iranian leader continued: “It appears that regimes that could not deliver their intended messages through other means, and that could not get anyone to listen to them ware seeking this through terrorism, violence and fear.”
Rouhani offered his condolences to the families of the victims and to the relatives of Iranian embassy's cultural adviser Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ansari.
At least 23 people were killed and more than 145 others were wounded in a twin blast that took place on Tuesday morning near the Iranian Embassy in the neighborhood of Bir Hassan in Beirut's southern suburbs.
A security official said the first suicide attacker was on a motorcycle that carried two kilograms of explosives. He blew himself up at the large black main gate of the Iranian mission, damaging the three-story facility.
Less than two minutes later, the second suicide attacker driving a car rigged with 50 kilograms of explosives struck about 10 meters away, the official said.
The al-Qaida-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the bombings, according to the Twitter page of a cleric linked to the group.
"The Abdullah Azzam brigades - the Hussein bin Ali cells - are behind the attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut," Sheikh Sirajeddine Zuraiqat, the group's religious guide, posted on Twitter.
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