The “terrorist and racist attack” on Muslim worshippers in New Zealand, which killed and injured a large number of Muslims from various nationalities, showed the hypocritical face of the West and hurt the feelings of Muslims around the world, including Iranian nation, Amoli Larijani said in a statement on Saturday.
He further condemned the terrorist incident and offered his condolences to the people and government of New Zealand, the bereaved families of the victims in particular.
At least one gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 40 during Friday prayers at two New Zealand mosques in the country’s worst ever mass shooting, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as terrorism.
A gunman broadcast livestream footage on Facebook of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a “manifesto” in which he denounced immigrants, calling them “invaders”.
New Zealand was placed on its highest security threat level, Ardern said, adding that “this can now only be described as a terrorist attack”.
Police said three people were in custody including one man in his late 20s who had been charged with murder.