Attack on military parade in Ahvaz
Attack on military parade in AhvazReuters

Iranian authorities have detained a member of the military over the September attack on a military parade in the southwestern city of Ahvaz that killed 24 people, The Associated Press reports.

The report, which originally appeared in the Iranian IRNA news agency on Sunday, quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossin Mohseni Ejehi as saying prosecutors have already investigated 11 other military personnel over the case.

Ejehi did not elaborate but said a military court is probing the case.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS), but it was also claimed by a movement called the "Ahwaz National Resistance", an Arab separatist group.

ISIS had posted a video of three men who allegedly carried it out.

In the video, the authenticity of which is unknown, the three are seen in a vehicle, with two of them speaking in Arabic about jihad. The third spoke in Farsi. They suggested they were targeting Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

ISIS later threatened to carry out new attacks in Iran, saying the Islamic Republic is "flimsier than a spider's web, and with God's help, what comes will be worse and more bitter".

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accused the US and the Gulf states of responsibility for the Ahvaz attack.

"The group behind the attack was financed and received military backing from the Gulf states - and the United States supplies the resources to the Gulf states to carry out these crimes," Rouhani said, adding that Iran would "respond to these crimes within the framework of the law and international interests."

Similarly, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed the attack on “regional terror sponsors and their US masters”.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was subsequently asked about Zarif’s comments in an interview and replied, “When you have a security incident at home, blaming others is an enormous mistake. And the loss of innocent life is tragic, and I wish Zarif would focus on keeping his own people secure rather than causing insecurity all around the world.”