Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Speaking in Iran's eastern province of Southern Khorasan on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said some countries claimed to fight terrorism while simultaneously supporting terrorists such as Abdulmalek Rigi, leader of the Jundallah group, Iran's English-language Press TV reported.
"Why have you issued a passport for Rigi if you want to arrest a terrorist?" Ahmadinejad asked, referring to the forged Afghan passport which Iran says US authorities issued to Rigi.
Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said on Tuesday that Abdulmalek Rigi was at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his capture in southern Iran, where he was found to have the forged passport in his possession.
An unnamed US official in Washington told Agence France Presse that the claim was "totally bogus".
"The Iranian security forces captured Rigi without any bloodshed," the Iranian president went on to say, according to Press TV. "It is better for these countries to adopt the Iranian model of campaigning against terrorism."
Iran's security forces arrested Rigi on Tuesday when they forced his plane, en route to Kyrgyzstan from Dubai, to land in the port city of Bandar Abbas.
Jundallah, which has operated in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan's Baluchistan provinces, has carried out numerous attacks against civilians and high-profile Iranian targets, including local government and Revolutionary Guard officials.
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