An Iranian military spokesman said Friday the gunmen responsible of the military parade attack were trained by two Gulf Arab states and had ties to the United States and Israel.

"These terrorists... were trained and organized by two ... Gulf countries," Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the official news agency IRNA.

"They are not from Daesh (Islamic State) or other groups fighting (Iran's) Islamic system ... but they are linked to America and (Israel's intelligence agency) Mossad."