TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Two bombs exploded in a bank and outside a government building Tuesday, killing six people and injuring 46 in a southwestern city with a history of violence involving members of Iran’s Arab minority, the official news agency reported.

The president had been expected to meet his Cabinet in the city on Tuesday but canceled the visit.

Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi said the attacks in Ahvaz, the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province which borders Iraq, were foreign-inspired and related to last year’s bombings in the same city.

Ahvaz was the scene of bombings in June and October that the government blamed on Iranian Arab extremists who were allegedly trained abroad and maintained ties to foreign governments, including Britain. The October bombings killed six people and the June attacks killed at least eight. Britain has denied any connection.

“Today’s explosions are a continuation of the same indiscriminate attacks directed from outside the country,” the Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Pourmohammadi as saying.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his entire Cabinet had been expected to meet Tuesday in Ahvaz as part of a series of visits to provincial capitals to address key local issues. Ahmadinejad canceled the visit, citing a forecast calling for heavy rain, IRNA reported.

The bombs targeted a bank and a state environmental agency building in the city, IRNA said.

A deputy provincial governor of Ahvaz, Mohsen Farrokhinejad, said Tuesday’s blasts killed six people and wounded 46, IRNA reported.

Nezam Molla Hoveizeh, a Khuzestan lawmaker, alleged Tuesday’s explosions were the work of Iranian Arab separatists who have offices in London and are supported by Britain.

“The bombers are directed by the British. Britain is the main culprit behind the blasts. The British government offers financial and material support to these terrorists,” he told The Associated Press.

Iran has repeatedly accused Britain of provoking unrest in Khuzestan, which borders that part of Iraq where 8,500 British soldiers are based as part of the U.S.-led military coalition.

Tensions between the two countries have also flared recently over Britain’s opposition to Iran’s resumption of nuclear activities. The United States suspects Iran has ambitions of producing nuclear weapons and Britain supports moves to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions. Iran says its nuclear program is for producing energy.

Britain has also accused Tehran of allowing Iraqi insurgents to receive explosives technology that has been used to attack British soldiers. Iran denies those allegations.

Arabs make up less than 3 percent of Iran’s population, and most live in Khuzestan.

In April, residents of Ahvaz rioted for two days after Arab separatists circulated reports the government planned to decrease the proportion of Arabs in the province. The government denied the claim.