Ebrahim Raisi administration officials continued to discuss the January 3 terrorist attack with their foreign counterparts on January 4 and 5. President Raisi discussed the attack with his Turkmen and Serbian counterparts in separate phone calls on January 4.[65] Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian discussed the attack in separate phone calls with his Qatari, Sri Lankan, Syrian, and Turkish counterparts on January 4 and 5.[66] Abdollahian emphasized the need for regional countries to cooperate to combat terrorism.
Iranian state media is downplaying the connection between Afghanistan and the January 3 terrorist attack. IRGC-affiliated media highlighted that 12 of the victims of the terrorist attack were Afghan nationals and claimed that Iran and Afghanistan share a “blood bond” and “shared grief.”[67] IRGC-affiliated media also described Iran and Afghanistan as “not two nations, but one nation.” Iranian state media previously accused anti-regime outlets of trying to stoke tension between Iran and its neighbors by claiming that one of the suicide bombers in the January 3 attack was a Pakistani national who previously attempted to carry out an attack in Afghanistan.[68]
full report: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-5-2024
Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić = Russian asset
Iran Update, January 6, 2024
Iranian officials continued emphasizing the false narrative that the United States created ISIS to blame the United States and Israel for the January 3 terrorist attack in Kerman City, Iran.[40] Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi claimed that the United States created ISIS and added that ISIS is now an agent of Israel. Vahidi claimed that the actions of ISIS illustrate Israel’s fear of the other countries in the region. Vahidi stated the Ebrahim Raisi administration is working to respond to the enemies of Iran who were responsible for the attack. The Afghan branch of the Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), claimed responsibility for the Kerman attack on January 5.[41]
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi discussed the Israel-Hamas war and the ISKP attack in Kerman at an event in Zanjan Province on January 6.[42] Raisi said that Iran will continue to support the Palestinian people and all oppressed people around the world.[43] Raisi also condemned the ISKP attack.
full report: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-6-2024