Iranian President Blames Western World and Israel for Capture of Rebel

2/24/2010

TEHRAN- Jundallah, meaning “soldiers of God”, is a terrorist group operating out of southeastern Iran, an area heavily populated with Sunnis, who it claims to defend. The organization is responsible for numerous attacks such as a bombing in October that killed 40 people. Now, finally, Iran has taken action and yesterday captured Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of Jundallah.

Faced with something new, that is, success that doesn’t cost him his international reputation, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was unsure how to proceed. In the end, he fell back on his usual strategy: blame America and Israel.

“The Zionists have successfully captured Mr. Rigi,” he said in a press conference yesterday. “They are turning him over to us as we speak.” When asked about his previous comments pertaining to Mr. Rigi working with Israel, President Ahmadinejad explained that Mr. Rigi was both working with and captured by Israel. “These Zionists… they are very foolish.” Another reporter commented that details had arisen pointing to Iranian forces as Mr. Rigi’s captors, to which President Ahmadinejad replied, “No, it was definitely Israel."

Mr. Rigi was reportedly arrested in Pakistan.

In a misguided effort to show that he and his officials are not terrorists, President Ahmadinejad showed Mr. Rigi being led off an airplane, unarmed, guarded by two armed men in black masks. “This clearly shows,” he said in a statement issued shortly thereafter, “that the Iranian men, who are wearing masks like terrorists, are not terrorists, while the terrorist who is not wearing a mask is a terrorist. Think about it for a while, it definitely makes sense.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/world/middleeast/24insurgent.html?ref=middleeast