More than a dozen Shiite pilgrims were killed this week when a gunman opened fire on a religious shrine in Iran’s south-central city of Shiraz.
The attack, for which the ISIS terrorist group has purportedly claimed responsibility, came amid ongoing anti-government protests that have roiled Iran since mid-September.
On Oct. 26, a gunman entered the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz and opened fire, killing more than a dozen people before being overpowered and detained by security forces.
Shiite Muslims, who account for most of Iran’s population, view the shrine as the country’s second holiest site.
Speaking shortly afterward, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed that the attack would “certainly not go unanswered.”
“Experience shows that Iran’s enemies, after failing to create a split in the nation’s united ranks, take revenge through violence and terror,” Raisi said.
Later the same day, the ISIS terrorist group issued a statement via its Amaq News Agency claiming responsibility for the killings.
In 2017, the group claimed responsibility for a pair of deadly bombings that targeted Iran’s parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Protests Continue
This week’s shrine attack occurred amid ongoing anti-government protests in Iran that have continued intermittently in several parts of the country for the past six weeks.Protesters have reportedly torched police cars and attacked government buildings, while security forces have been accused of using lethal force to break up demonstrations.
On Sept. 30, Iranian officials said 19 people, including security personnel, had been killed when a police station came under attack by “militants” in the southeastern city of Zahedan.
But human rights groups challenge the Iranian account, with Amnesty International stating that at least 66 people–including demonstrators and bystanders–lost their lives in the incident.
Sporadic violence continued last week. On Oct. 26, Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, reported that a member of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps had been killed by “rioters” in the western city of Malayer.
Protests first began on Sept. 16, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody. She had initially been detained by police in Tehran for wearing “inappropriate attire.”
While police say she died of sudden heart failure, others allege that she suffered abuse at the hands of police, leading to her death.
Despite promises by authorities to investigate, protests quickly spread from Tehran to other Iranian cities, including Esfahan, Tabriz, and Mashhad.
Iranian officials have blamed the unrest on external enemies, including the United States and Israel, while providing little evidence for the claims.
Within the past six weeks, several foreign nationals have been detained in Iran for allegedly taking part in the demonstrations.
‘Politically Motivated’
Since the protests began last month, U.S. officials have openly supported the demonstrators, accusing Tehran of committing human rights abuses.In an Oct. 16 interview, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington had adopted a “range of aggressive actions to try to support the protesters in Iran.”
The next day, the European Union imposed sanctions on Iranian officials and agencies that it claims are guilty of human rights violations.
Tehran responded on Oct. 27, summoning the German ambassador and accusing Berlin of inciting “riots.”
Iran also imposed its own raft of sanctions on EU officials, media agencies, and nongovernmental organizations that it accuses of provoking the ongoing unrest.
The EU, for its part, dismissed the Iranian sanctions as “politically motivated.”
In a related development, the White House accused Russia this week of helping Iran contain the wave of anti-government protests.
Western capitals and their allies in Kyiv also accuse Iran of supplying Russia with combat drones used in the continuing conflict with Ukraine.
“Our message to Iran is very, very clear,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Oct. 26. “Stop killing your people, and stop sending weapons to Russia to kill Ukrainians.”
Both Tehran and Moscow deny Western claims that Russia is using Iranian drones to strike targets in Ukraine.
On Oct. 27, Russia’s TASS news agency reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had sent a note of condolence to his Iranian counterpart in connection with this week’s shrine attack.
Putin reportedly stressed Moscow’s readiness to step up cooperation with Tehran on issues related to counter-terrorism.
On the same day, Raisi was quoted by IRNA as saying that ISIS “claimed the attack, but this raises the question of who created the terror group and supports it to sow discord among countries of West Asia.”
On Oct. 28, security forces in Shiraz thwarted a bomb attack and arrested the culprit, according to reports in the Iranian press.
Police sources were quoted as saying that the culprit’s identity would be released to the public “following investigations.”
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