TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the bloodshed in Pakistan, Iraq and the Islamic republic was the work of foreign agents and aimed at unleashing sectarian conflict.

‘The bloody actions being committed in some Islamic countries, including Iraq, Pakistan and in some parts of the country (Iran), are aimed at creating division between the Shiites and Sunnis,’ he said, quoted on state TV.

Mr Khamenei said regional countries must beware that ‘those who carry out these terrorist actions are directly or indirectly foreign agents.’

The three regional countries which share borders with each other have been rocked by brutal violence in past weeks.

On Sunday, two vehicle bombs killed over 100 people in Baghdad, while Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province was rocked by an Oct 18 suicide attack which killed more than 40 people, including 15 Revolutionary Guards members.

A series of deadly attacks have also swept Pakistan. Iran has blamed the Oct 18 attack on the rebel group Jundallah which has been waging an insurgency against Iranian government. — AFP