A think tank privy to security circles in the US said that Washington has had a hand in the recent terrorist blast in Zahedan, southeast Iran.

Stratfor, which is a research institute formed of former US security officials, said in its Saturday report that a local armed group which carried out the recent terrorist attack against the members of Iran's Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC) in Zahedan, the central city of Iran's Sistan and Balouchestan province, had received support from western security and intelligence agencies.

The think tank described the confrontation between Iran and the US on Iraq as very serious, and said, "While media have focused on efforts to resume talks, there is a hidden war between Iran and the US."

Stratfor named Israel as a partner of the United States in its aggressive stances on Iran, and reminded, "Tel Aviv has centered its attention on confrontation with Iran's nuclear plans while it has openly spoken of the assassination of Iran's nuclear scientists."

"But the US has set its agenda on supporting ethnic minorities to incite them to confront the Iranian government in a bid to force Iran to make concession over Iraq's issues," the Stratfor report concluded.