US tells Iran to 'look in the mirror' after Ahvaz attack
Washington, Sep 24: US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley has urged Iran to "look in the mirror" for the causes of an attack on a military parade that killed at least 29 people on Saturday.
Haley said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had "oppressed his people for a long time", BBC reported on Sunday.
She was responding to Rouhani's fierce criticism of the US, in which he blamed it for enabling the attack.
Two separate groups have claimed they carried out the shooting, but neither has provided evidence.
Four gunmen opened fire at Revolutionary Guard troops in the south-western city of Ahvaz on Saturday, killing 29 people people including soldiers and civilians watching a commemorative parade.
One of the victims was a four-year-old girl.
An anti-government Arab group -- Ahvaz National Resistance -- and the Islamic State (IS) group both claimed responsibility for the killings.
A video released by the Islamic State group's news agency, Amaq, shows three men in a car who appear to be dressed in Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) uniforms, possibly on their way to carry out the shooting.
The men do not identify themselves as members of IS in the video, but do talk about the importance of jihad.
Rouhani said the "bully" US, along with Gulf states it backed, had enabled the attack.
But the US has denied responsibility and says it condemns "any terrorist attack", while a senior official for the United Arab Emirates - one of the countries Rouhani was thought to be referring to - called the accusations "baseless".
"He's got the Iranian people... protesting, every ounce of money that goes into Iran goes into his military, he has oppressed his people for a long time and he needs to look at his own base to figure out where that's coming from," Haley told CNN.
"He can blame us all he wants. The thing he's got to do is look in the mirror."
Rouhani will face US President Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly this week.
Speaking on Sunday, before leaving for the UN in New York, Rouhani vowed that Iran would "not let this crime stand".
"It is absolutely clear to us who committed this crime... and whom they are linked to," he said.
He alleged that a Gulf country had supported the "financial, weaponry and political needs" of the attackers.
He added: "The small puppet countries in the region are backed by America, and the US is provoking them and giving them the necessary capabilities."
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Assam polls: Cong announces first list of 42 candidates, Gaurav to contest from Jorhat
Guwahati (PTI): The opposition Congress on Tuesday took the lead in announcing its first list of 42 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Assam, with it comprising both sitting MLAs and former ministers, and also new faces, including sons of three prominent politicians.
The party's chief ministerial candidate and state president Gaurav Gogoi will contest from the prestigious Jorhat assembly constituency, currently held by BJP's Hitendra Nath Goswami.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha will make his first electoral foray for the assembly.
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Gogoi is currently the party MP from the Jorhat parliamentary constituency and previously represented Kaliabor twice before it was reconstituted during the delimitation exercise in the state.
The leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia, will contest from the family stronghold of Nazira, which he has represented since 2016. His father, former chief minister Hiteswar Saikia, and his mother, Hemoprava Saikia, previously represented the constituency.
Three sitting MLAs -- Nandita Das from Hajo-Sualkuchi, Diganta Barman from Barkhetry and Nurul Huda from Rupohihat -- have also been included in the list.
Das, a two-time MLA, had earlier contested from Boko but following the delimitation exercise in the state, she has been shifted to Hajo-Sualkuchi while Barman and Huda will contest from the same seats they represented in the current assembly.
Former minister and state Congress president Ripun Bora will contest from Barchalla while another former minister, Ajit Singh, will contest from Udharbond constituency in Barak Valley.
Former minister and Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukan, a four-time MLA till 2016, will contest from Naharkatia in Upper Assam.
Tanzil Hussain, son of Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain, will contest from Samaguri where he had lost to BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah in the 2024 by-elections which was necessitated following the election of the senior Hussain to Lok Sabha.
Prateek Bordoloi, son of Nagaon MP Prodyut Bordoloi, will contest the Margherita seat which was represented by his father thrice since 2001.
Former five-time MP and prominent tea tribe leader Paban Singh Ghatowar's son Pranjal Ghatowar will contest from the Chabua-Lahowal seat.
Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, who had unsuccessfully contested the last parliamentary polls from Gauhati, has been given the ticket for the prestigious Dispur constituency.
Former BJP MLA Ashok Sarma, who was denied ticket by the ruling party in 2021 and went on to join the Congress in 2024, will contest from his previous Nalbari seat.
Another former BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker Aminul Haque Laskar, who joined the Congress in 2024, will contest from Sonai constituency in Barak Valley.
Former AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, who joined the Congress in September 2025, will contest from Kamalpur seat.
Other prominent faces in the list include former Congress MLAs Durga Bhumij from Doomdooma, Binanda Kumar Saikia from Sipahjhar and Bubul Das from Jagiroad (SC) constituency.
The Congress is a leading part of the unified opposition alliance, 'Asom Sonmilito Morcha', formed to challenge the ruling BJP, and has entered into seat-sharing arrangements with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Left, but is yet to finalise it with Raijor Dal.
Presently, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven and BPF has three members.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.
