Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei vows revenge after deadly attack on Shiite pilgrims

A day after a gunman carried out an attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to take revenge against those who pose a threat to the country’s security.

At least 15 people were killed after the Islamic State group attacked Shiite Muslim shrine in Shiraz, news agency Reuters reported. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack which threatens to inflame tensions amid widespread anti-government protests.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi vowed that the shooting would not go unanswered. Making an appeal for Iranians to unite, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the assailants ‘will surely be punished’. “We all have a duty to deal with the enemy and its traitorous or ignorant agents,” he said in a statement read on state television after the attack.

“We all have a duty to deal with the enemy and its traitorous or ignorant agents. Security bodies, the judiciary, activists in the field of thought … and the people must be united against …disregard for people’s lives, security, and sanctions,” Khamenei said.

The CCTV footage broadcast on state TV showed the attacker entering the shrine after hiding an assault rifle in a big. The gunman opened fire on worshippers as they tried to flee and hide in corridors.

A senior official told Reuters that the attacker was in critical condition after being shot by police. “We have not been able to interrogate him yet,” said deputy provincial governor Easmail Mohebipour, quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Wednesday’s killing of Shiite pilgrims came on the same day that Iranian security forces killed at least eight protesters as crackdown on anti-hijab protests continues, human rights NGO Amnesty International said.

“Iran’s security forces killed at least eight people since last night as they again opened fire on mourners and protesters,” Amnesty said on Thursday, condemning the ‘reckless and unlawful use of firearms’.

ANTI-HIJAB PROTESTS IN IRAN

The attack on the shrine comes at a time when anti-hijab protests have rocked several parts of the country after the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini, who died in alleged police custody for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

Dozens of people, mainly protesters but also members of the security forces, have been killed during the unrest. Hundreds of people, including women, have been arrested.