Raeisi tells Putin Iran stands with Russia after terrorist attack in Moscow

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has called for serious action by the international community to punish the “masterminds and perpetrators” of a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall.    

In a message to President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, Raeisi offered condolences to the Russian government and people for the death of innocent people and strongly condemned the terrorist incident.

President Raeisi also stressed Iran’s support for the efforts of the Russian authorities to maintain the country’s national security.

Camouflaged gunmen opened fire at the packed Crocus City Hall in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk on Friday evening ahead of a concert in the deadliest attack in Russia for at least a decade.

Russia’s FSB security service said 11 people had been detained, including four people directly involved in the attack as the death toll rose to 115 on Saturday, Interfax news agency reported.

President Putin was yet to comment publicly on the attack for which the Daesh-K, an offshoot of the Daesh terrorist group, has claimed responsibility.

The Kremlin said the FSB head had informed Putin about the arrests, while authorities warned the number of fatalities was set to keep rising, with more than 100 still hospitalized and a search of the burnt-out venue ongoing.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the terrorist attack, his spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.

Guterres “conveys his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the people and the Government of the Russian Federation”, Haq added.