The Sept. 22 bombing was the latest in the Kurdish insurgency campaign
against the Teheran regime. Officials have accused Britain and the United
States of training and financing the insurgency by the Party of Free Life of
Kurdistan. No group has yet claimed responsibility.
The attack marred the latest Iranian demonstration of its military
might. Iran's military began a series of parades during the anniversary of
the Iran-Iraq war, which ended in 1988. In Teheran, the military exhibited
the new solid-fuel Sejil intermediate-range missile as well as the
longer-range Ghadr-1.
The military also displayed its new Karar unmanned aerial vehicle. Iran
has asserted that Karar was an attack platform with a range of 1,000
kilometers.
"We can confidently tell people that our military might is superior in
the region, but our military superiority is not limited to the number of
planes and material calculations," a senior Iranian commander said.
Another element in the parade was the new so-called Blue Berets,
designated by Iran to be a unit for United Nations peace-keeping missions.
The unit was accompanied by armored personnel carriers with the UN insignia.
"Iran has been ready for several years to provide a group of
peacekeeping soldiers to the United Nations," Iranian Chief of Staff Gen.
Ataollah Salehi said.