Tehran — Iranian President Hassan Rohani and other senior officials attending an event marking the start of 1980-88 war with Iraq fled the scene when gunmen fired on a military parade in southwestern Iran on Saturday, killing 25 people, almost half of them members of the Revolutionary Guards, in one of the worst attacks ever on the force.

State television said the assault, which wounded more than 60 people, targeted a stand where Iranian officials had gathered in the city of Ahvaz to watch an annual event marking the start of 1980-88 war with Iraq.

Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, said the attackers had hidden weapons in an area near the parade route several days in advance.

The bloodshed struck a blow to the Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) which has been meddling in the internal affairs of regional countries and creating sectarian divide.

A video distributed to Iranian media showed soldiers crawling to escape gunfire. A video on state television’s website showed confused soldiers. Standing in front of the stand, one asked: “Where did they come from?” Another responded: “From behind us.”

Hardliners like the IRGC have gained standing at the expense of pragmatists in Iran’s multi-tiered leadership since president Donald Trump decided in May to pull the United States out of the 2015 international nuclear deal with Tehran and reimpose sanctions in moves to isolate Iran.

Kurdish fighters killed 10 Revolutionary Guards in an attack on an IRGC post on the Iraqi border in July, where armed Kurdish opposition groups are active. — Agencies