A top Iranian official on Thursday rejected President Trump’s condolences after a pair of terror attacks in Tehran, saying, "Iranian people reject such U.S. claims of friendship.”
Reuters reported that Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, called the White House’s statement “repugnant.”
ISIS claimed responsibility for a pair of stunning attacks Wednesday on Iran's parliament and the tomb of its revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 40.
The White House released a statement from Trump condemning the terrorist attacks in Tehran and offering condolences, but also implying that Iran is itself a sponsor of terrorism.
"We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times," the statement said. "We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote."
Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard indirectly blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks. A statement issued Wednesday evening stopped short of alleging direct Saudi involvement but called it "meaningful" that the attacks followed Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, where he strongly asserted Washington's support for Riyadh.
The statement said Saudi Arabia "constantly supports" terrorists including the Islamic State group, adding that the IS claim of responsibility "reveals (Saudi Arabia's) hand in this barbaric action."
The "spilled blood of the innocent will not remain unavenged," the Revolutionary Guard statement said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday responded to the country’s fight against Islamic extremism, calling for tougher measures to fight terrorists after attackers killed seven people and injured nearly 50 in vehicle and stabbing assaults in a busy area of London Saturday night.
The attack, the third this year and coming days before a nationwide vote in Britain, ended when police shot and killed three attackers at the scene of the carnage at London Bridge and Borough Market.
The prime minister delivered a stark assessment of the situation, adding: “It is time to say: Enough is enough.”
Here is the full text of May’s remarks:
"Last night, our country fell victim to a brutal terrorist attack once again. As a result I have just chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee and I want to update you with the latest information about the attack.
Shortly before 10:10 yesterday evening, the Metropolitan Police received reports that a white van had struck pedestrians on London Bridge. It continued to drive from London Bridge to Borough Market, where three terrorists left the van and attacked innocent and unarmed civilians with blades and knives.
All three were wearing what appeared to be explosive vests, but the police have established that this clothing was fake and worn only to spread panic and fear.
As so often in such serious situations, the police responded with great courage and great speed. Armed officers from the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police arrived at Borough Market within moments, and shot and killed the three suspects. The terrorists were confronted and shot by armed officers within 8 minutes of the police receiving the first emergency call.
Seven people have died as a result of the attack, in addition to the three suspects shot dead by the police. Forty-eight people are being treated in several hospitals across London. Many have life-threatening conditions.
On behalf of the people of London, and on behalf of the whole country, I want to thank and pay tribute to the professionalism and bravery of the police and the emergency services -- and the courage of members of the public who defended themselves and others from the attackers. And our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and with their friends, families and loved ones.
This is, as we all know, the third terrorist attack Britain has experienced in the last three months. In March, a similar attack took place, just around the corner on Westminster Bridge. Two weeks ago, the Manchester Arena was attacked by a suicide bomber. And now London has been struck once more.
And at the same time, the security and intelligence agencies and police have disrupted 5 credible plots since the Westminster attack in March.
In terms of their planning and execution, the recent attacks are not connected. But we believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face, as terrorism breeds terrorism, and perpetrators are inspired to attack not only on the basis of carefully-constructed plots after years of planning and training -- and not even as lone attackers radicalized online -- but by copying one another and often using the crudest of means of attack.
We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are. Things need to change, and they need to change in four important ways.
First, while the recent attacks are not connected by common networks, they are connected in one important sense. They are bound together by the single, evil ideology of Islamist extremism that preaches hatred, sows division, and promotes sectarianism. It is an ideology that claims our Western values of freedom, democracy and human rights are incompatible with the religion of Islam. It is an ideology that is a perversion of Islam and a perversion of the truth.
Defeating this ideology is one of the great challenges of our time. But it cannot be defeated through military intervention alone. It will not be defeated through the maintenance of a permanent, defensive counter-terrorism operation, however skillful its leaders and practitioners. It will only be defeated when we turn people's minds away from this violence -- and make them understand that our values - pluralistic, British values -- are superior to anything offered by the preachers and supporters of hate.
Second, we cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet - and the big companies that provide internet-based services - provide. We need to work with allied, democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremism and terrorist planning. And we need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online.
Third, while we need to deprive the extremists of their safe spaces online, we must not forget about the safe spaces that continue to exist in the real world. Yes, that means taking military action to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. But it also means taking action here at home. While we have made significant progress in recent years, there is - to be frank - far too much tolerance of extremism in our country.
So we need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out - across the public sector and across society. That will require some difficult and often embarrassing conversations, but the whole of our country needs to come together to take on this extremism - and we need to live our lives not in a series of separated, segregated communities but as one truly United Kingdom.
Fourth, we have a robust counterterrorism strategy that has proved successful over many years. But as the nature of the threat we face becomes more complex, more fragmented, more hidden, especially online, the strategy needs to keep up. So in light of what we are learning about the changing threat, we need to review Britain's counter-terrorism strategy to make sure the police and security services have all the powers they need.
And if we need to increase the length of custodial sentences for terrorism-related offences, even apparently less serious offences, that is what we will do.
Since the emergence of the threat from Islamist-inspired terrorism, our country has made significant progress in disrupting plots and protecting the public. But it is time to say enough is enough. Everybody needs to go about their lives as they normally would. Our society should continue to function in accordance with our values. But when it comes to taking on extremism and terrorism, things need to change.
As a mark of respect the two political parties have suspended our national campaigns for today. But violence can never be allowed to disrupt the democratic process. So those campaigns will resume in full tomorrow. And the general election will go ahead as planned on Thursday.
As a country, our response must be as it has always been when we have been confronted by violence. We must come together, we must pull together, and united we will take on and defeat our enemies."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An elite SAS unit, nick-named Blue Thunder, is believed to have been dispatched for the first-time in response to last night's terror attack in London.
Armed police officers shot and killed three suspected terrorists within eight minutes of receiving the call. However, during the chaos, it was believed one suspect had escaped.
The unit was sent out to mobilise Special Forces agents, at the scene, to help track down the 'missing terrorist'.
An unmarked helicopter was photographed landing on London Bridge last night. Credit: PA
'Blue Thunder', which gets its name from the unmarked helicopters used to fly troops around the country, takes orders directly from the Home Secretary and is a team of 70 special agents. It was formed after the terror attack in Paris in 2015 and has undergone rigorous training in how to tackle terror scenarios.
According to the Daily Mail, last night is the first time the unit has ever been used in Britain, but the Home Office have refused to comment.
Photographs appeared to show two helicopters landing on London Bridge shortly after the attacks.
The type of helicopter snapped is the same as those used to transport Special Forces around the country quickly.
Armed police out in force in London today. Credit: PA
Calls were made to the Metropolitan Police at 10.08pm, when a white van was reported to have ploughed into people on London Bridge, before driving off and crashing into a pub.
The suspects then jumped out of the van and began a horrific knife attack on people who were out enjoying their Saturday night.
At 10.16pm, armed police arrived at the scene, where officers opened fire on the suspects, killing them.
Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick announced earlier today that no suspects were still at large.
Credit: PA
The bravery of the police officers has been praised by both the public and officials.
Prime Minister Theresa May spoke of the 'great courage and great speed' of officers when dealing with the incident.
Seven people were killed in the attacks and at least 48 were taken into hospitals around London.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Eight police officers fired an unprecedented number of bullets to stop three attackers in London who appeared to be suicide bombers wearing explosive vests, Britain's counter-terrorism police chief said on Sunday.
The three attackers drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night then ran into the bustling Borough Market area where they stabbed numerous people. Seven died and 48 were taken to hospital.
The attackers were wearing what were later found to be fake explosive vests.
"Eight police firearms officers discharged their weapons ... Our initial assessment is in the region of 50 rounds, in the region of 50 bullets were fired by those eight officers. The three attackers were shot dead," Mark Rowley said.
Most police officers in Britain are not armed and it is unusual for officers to fire their guns.
"The situation these officers were confronted with was critical: a matter of life and death," Rowley said.
"Three armed men wearing what appeared to be suicide belts. They had already attacked and killed members of the public and had to be stopped immediately.
"Indeed I am not surprised that when faced with what they must have feared were three suicide bombers, the firearms officers fired an unprecedented number of rounds to be completely confident that they had neutralized the threat that those men posed."
A member of the public received non-critical gunshot wounds during the incident.
Rowley said police were making significant progress in identifying the three attackers, but gave no details. He said police were increasingly confident the attack had been carried out by three individuals, but needed to establish whether others were involved in the planning.
He also said security arrangements for forthcoming events were being reviewed and the public could expect to see additional police, both armed and unarmed, across the capital.
"You will also see increased physical measures in order to keep the public safe on London's bridges," Rowley said.
Saturday's attack was the second to involve a vehicle driving into pedestrians on a bridge in London in just three months.
In March, five people died after an attacker drove a car at pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and stabbed a policeman in the grounds of parliament. The attacker was shot dead by police.
A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral killed 25 people and wounded another 49 during Sunday Mass, one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory and a grim reminder of Egypt's difficult struggle to restore security and stability after nearly six years of turmoil.
The attack came two days after a bomb elsewhere in Cairo killed six policemen, an assault claimed by a shadowy group that authorities say is linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. That group — called "Hasm," or "Decisiveness" — distanced itself from the attack in a statement issued Sunday night, saying it does not as a principle kill women, children, the elderly or worshippers.
The statement, at least in theory, leaves the extremist Islamic State group or like-minded independent militants as the chief suspects.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's attack. However, Islamic militants have targeted Christians in the past, including a New Year's Day bombing at a church in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria in 2011 that killed at least 21 people. More recently, churches and Christian property in southern Egypt were targeted in the aftermath of the military's July 2013 ouster of an Islamist president. Those were blamed on Brotherhood supporters and ultraorthodox Salafi Muslims.
