TEHRAN, Jan 5: Iran said on Thursday it would not be blackmailed by a Sunni group which is threatening to kill eight kidnapped Iranian soldiers unless Tehran frees 16 of the group’s jailed members.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will by no means be blackmailed by the captors,” Ali Janati, deputy interior minister for security affairs was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

“The threats will not influence Iran’s decision and the slightest action taken by these vigilantes will trigger a serious reaction from Iran,” he added.

Al Arabiya television aired a video from the Organization of God’s Soldiers for Sunni Mujahideen on Wednesday which showed what it said were eight Iranian soldiers identifying themselves before pleading with the government to comply with their captors’ demands.

“We give the Iranian authorities three weeks to comply with our demands or we will kill these hostages,” Al Arabiya quoted the group’s spokesman as saying.

The tape’s authenticity could not immediately be verified. Previously, the group had said it had taken nine Iranian soldiers.

Iran says the guards were seized last month close to Iran’s frontier with Pakistan and were taken over the border.—Reuters