Iran condemns New York attack, slams US Mideast policies

Iran today condemned the truck attack in New York that killed eight people but also said that US policies in the Middle East were the "root of terrorism".
"The murder of innocent and undefended citizens in public places demonstrates the cruelty and savagery of terrorist groups like Daesh," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
He added, however, that Iran considers that "the root of terrorism... is the policies carried out at certain times by the United States and their allies in the Middle East."
The man who drove his pickup truck down a crowded New York bike path yesterday left a note pledging allegiance to IS, US media reported, but there was no immediate claim of responsiblity from the jihadist organisation.

Iran previously expressed its sympathy towards the United States following the shooting massacre in Las Vegas in early October.
IS claimed responsibility for that attack but US authorities have said they have found no connection between the group and shooter Stephen Paddock.
Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic relations for the past 37 years, and the arrival in January of President Donald Trump in the White House has served to boost tensions.
After a double attack claimed by IS that killed 17 people in Tehran in June, Trump said that "states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote". Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced his comment as "repugnant".