A leading Iranian Sunni cleric has urged the people to cooperate with the authorities in their efforts to detain the perpetrators of a recent deadly attack in Pishin.

The top cleric in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Balouchestan praised the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Brigadier Nour-Ali Shoushtari for his efforts to bring lasting stability to the region.

Moulawi Abdul-Hamid said Brig. Shoushtari had angered the Jundallah separatist group by gathering Shia and Sunni tribal leaders for security talks in the borderline region of Pishin, and establishing close ties with them.

Brigadier Nour-Ali Shoushtari was killed in Pishin on Sunday morning along with 41 other people, who included other top IRGC commanders and local figures, in a bombing carried out by the Jundallah group.

Jundallah, a Pakistan-based terrorist ring closely affiliated with the notorious al-Qaeda organization and led by Abdolmalik Rigi, has carried out countless bombings and other violent attacks in Iran.

Abdul-Hamid said that he was sorry to see a “cult that is notorious in the region for attacks against people's security” organize the murder of yet another group of officials, tribal leaders and ordinary citizens.

“This cult is hostile to the followers of the Sunni and Shia faiths and it is worried and upset by their unity and affection for one another. This unity is exactly what it is trying to break by carrying out these attacks,” said the top Sunni cleric.

Abdul-Hamid added that both Shia and Sunni clerical establishments condemn such attacks.

In a recent interview with Press TV, Rigi's brother, Abdulhamid, confirmed that the Jundallah leader had established links with the US agents.

His brother said that in just one of his meetings with the US operatives, Rigi had received $100,000 to fuel sectarianism in Iran.

MJ/DT