Hostage runs from Lindt cafe, Sydney
Hostage runs from Lindt cafe, SydneyReuters

Iran condemned on Monday night the attack in Sydney, Australia, in which an Iranian born man took dozens of people hostages in a cafe.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham condemned the hostage taking and said that resorting to inhuman methods and creating fear, under the name of religion, is by no way acceptable in any circumstances, the IRNA news agency reported.

She reported expressed “surprise” over what she called the “unclear and imperfect news about the Iranian refugee” who was identified as the hostage taker, adding that the psychological conditions of the kidnapper had been discussed several times with the Australian officials.

The gunman was named in Australian media as an Iranian-born "cleric" called Man Haron Monis, aged 49, who had sent offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers and was out on bail on charges of being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife.

He was described as a "fringe Islamist" who acted on his own, and while the reasons for his acts remained murky, analysts said that the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group could take it as a win for their cause.

Monis took about 40 people hostage at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in central Sydney, forcing several of the hostages to hold up an extremist flag closely resembling ISIS's at the window of the cafe.

Australian security forces ultimately raided the cafe. During the raid, Monis died, as did two of the hostages.