Iran official: U.S. hired people behind deadly mosque bombing

An Iranian provincial official said Friday that the people behind a deadly mosque bombing in southeastern Iran had been hired by the United States, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

"It has been confirmed that those behind the terrorist act in Zahedan were hired by America...," Jalal Sayyah, a senior official at the governor's office in Sistan-Baluchestan province, told Fars.

The explosion at a prominent Shi'ite Muslim mosque in the southeast Iranian city of Zahedan on Thursday killed at least 19 people, a senior official said on Friday.

The figure given by provincial governor Ali Mohammad Azad to the official IRNA news agency was lower than a toll of 30 killed cited by the semi-official news agency ILNA hours after the blast on Thursday evening.

Authorities say they have arrested members of a terrorist group behind the blast, which took place as the Islamic Republic prepared to hold a presidential election on June 12. About 80 people were admitted to hospital with injuries from the blast, Azad said.

Azad was quoted as saying a "terrorist group" had been arrested but only one person was behind the explosion in the city.

"This group intended to use the insecure conditions in Afghanistan and Pakistan as the country prepares to hold its presidential election," he said on the website of state broadcaster IRIB.

"They planned to carry out other terrorist activities in other provinces and regions of the country."

Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, which shares a border with Pakistan. The province faces serious security problems and there are frequent clashes between police and drug dealers and bandits.

Iran is preparing for a presidential election on June 12, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is seeking a second term and faces three challengers.

Shortly after the explosion, security forces discovered and defused a second bomb near the mosque, the semi-official FARS news agency reported.

The attack was carried out on a public holiday for Shi'ite Muslims. Zahedan is a mostly Sunni city.

Earlier, Azad told state television the explosion occurred at about 7:45 p.m. when many people were inside the Ali Ebne-Abitaleb mosque for prayers.

A bomb attack in Zahedan in February 2007 which killed 18 Revolutionary Guards was claimed by Jundallah, an insurgent group that says it is fighting for the rights of Iran's Sunni Muslim minority.

The presidents of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan met in the capital Tehran for their first summit on Sunday, in an effort to improve cooperation in fighting terrorism and drug trafficking and tackling other regional security problems.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are battling to stem the spread of Taliban insurgencies in their countries, and Iran and Pakistan want a stable Afghanistan because the drugs trade has had a dire effect on Iran and past Afghan violence sent millions of refugees across the border.