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UK denies backing terrorist Rigi, Jundallah gang

24 February 2010 21:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The British government has denied contacting or supporting terrorist leader Abdolmalek Rigi or his Jundullah group, APA reports quoting Iranian television â€œPress TVâ€.

The claim was made by an FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) spokesperson in response to comments by Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi that Britain supported Rigi and the Jundollah group.

"The Iranian government has made unsubstantiated claims that the UK was in contact with and supported Abdolmalek Rigi and the Jundallah group," said an FCO spokesperson on Wednesday.

"The UK government rejects these false assertions and reiterates that it has never had any association with Abdolmalek Rigi or Jundallah," the spokesperson reiterated.

"The UK has always condemned the despicable terrorist attacks carried out by this group in Iran and has welcomed Rigi’s capture," the spokesperson explained.

Iranian TV broadcasted video shots of UK’s government-sponsored BBC news interviewing Rigi, as he boasted his anti-Iran terrorist activities.

Iranian observers explain that contents of BBC’s interviews with Rigi clearly indicate that they were supportive of his activities and also knew of his whereabouts. Therefore, they argue, the UK’s claim that they have condemned his terrorist acts simply does not add up to actual facts.

Moslehi said on Tuesday that Iranian security officials had been tracking Rigi down for over five months.

He further pointed out that the Islamic Republic reserved the right to sue the US and the UK for their role in coordinating Rigi’s terrorist operations within Iran.

The leader of the Jundallah terrorist group was on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan when he was tracked down by Iranian security forces on Tuesday.

According to an informed source, Rigi and one of his deputies were captured after special Iranian security units forced their plane to land at an airport in the Persian Gulf City of Bandar Abbas.

Iranian security forces explained that Rigi was at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his arrest and was carrying a forged Afghan passport issued by the US at the time he was detained.

Jundallah, which is based in Pakistan, has carried out numerous bombings, assassination attempts, and terrorist attacks in Iran, one of which killed at least 40 people in the southeastern city of Pishin.