Iran Envoy’s Letter to UN:

U.S. Responsible for Tondar’s Terrorist Crimes

Date: 09 August 2020 - 22:09

News ID: ۸۱۵۶۵

UNITED NATIONS (Dispatches) – Iran’s ambassador to the UN said on Saturday Tehran holds Washington responsible for terrorist crimes committed by a U.S.-based group against the Islamic Republic.
In a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres, Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said that the terrorist outfit Tondar (Thunder) has admitted carrying out several terrorist attacks in Iran, that killed or injured a number of civilians.
The group is continues conducting acts of terror from inside the United States and is even training terrorists to carry out acts of sabotage in Iran, he added.
Iran, Ravanchi said, has on numerous occasions informed the United States of the group’s terrorist crimes through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents the American interests in the Islamic Republic.
But Washington has done nothing to prevent the group or extradite its members behind terrorist acts to Iran for trial.
Based on international law, countries are obliged not to support terrorists nor allow them to use their soil for terrorist acts against other states, Ravanchi said.
The Iranian envoy said the U.S.’ continued support for Tondar leaves no doubt that Washington is blatantly violating all its international obligations and therefore is liable for all criminal acts committed by the group in Iran.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said early this month that it had captured Jamshid Sharmahd, the ringleader of the Tondar terrorist group, during a complicated operation.
After arrest, Sharmahd admitted providing explosives for a 2008 attack against a religious congregation center in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz in 2008, that killed 14 people and wounded 215 others.
Iranian officials say following the terrorist attack in Shiraz, Iran notified Interpol of Sharmahd’s identity and demanded his arrest, only to see him traveling freely around the globe without being accosted.

The terrorist group had planned to carry out several high-profile attacks across Iran. They included blowing up Sivand Damn in Shiraz, detonating cyanide-laden bombs at Tehran International Book Fair, and carrying out explosions during mass gatherings at the Mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini.
Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said after the arrest that Sharmahd enjoyed "serious support” from U.S. and Israeli intelligence services. The Intelligence Ministry, he said, had succeeded in foiling 27 operations planned by Sharmahd and his group.