Following a devastating attack in Shiraz on Wednesday evening claimed by Daesh, Iranians from all walks of life poured onto the streets on Friday to condemn this vicious act of terrorism and express their solidarity with the martyrs and reiterate their support for national unity.
At 17:45 local time, just before the Maghrib prayer in Shiraz (capital of Fars province), a terrorist entered the Shah-e-Cheragh shrine and opened fire on innocent pilgrims. The terrorist used a Kalashnikov rifle, according to Mostafa Bahreini, Shiraz’s Attorney General.
People from all across Iran - including the provinces of Kurdistan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Lorestan, Qazvin, Semnan, and Zanjan - took to the streets after Friday prayers to express their disgust over the savage terrorist act. The demonstrators called on the officials to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In the terrorist act 13 people, including three schoolchildren and a woman, were martyred. Mohammad Reza Keshavarz (a high school student), Arsham Seraydaran and Ali Asghar Looyi (both elementary school students) were the three students martyred by Daesh.
Artin Seraydaran, a 6-year-old kid was one of the survivors of the terrorist attack, whose parents and his brother were martyred in the attack.
“Immediately after the incident, I as the chief justice of Fars province and two of the investigators and the deputy prosecutor entered the shrine and the situation was brought under control with the cooperation of the police and security forces,” Bahreini explained. As per Bahreini, officials are seriously pursuing the behind-the-scenes agents of the terrorist attack, as well as their true intentions. “We have also obtained a series of preliminary information about the accomplices,” he underlined, adding that the officials will investigate and announce later who were the agents behind the attack.
“The assailant is about 30 years old, and preliminary information indicates that he entered the country from one of the neighboring countries,” Fars province’s attorney general said.
Hamed Badakhshan was the name of the assailant, who died due to the injuries he sustained while he was being arrested.
In a statement on their Telegram channel, the Islamic State (Daesh) claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Shiraz.
Graphic pictures and videos of the terrorist attack spurred all over social media, causing deep sorrow for all Iranians.
Immediately after the terrorist attack, the true friends of Iran began to condemn cold-blooded terrorism.
The terrorist attack was also condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres immediately after it happened.
“An attack on a religious place in Iran deserves to be condemned and we condemn all terrorist acts,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, said on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Pekka Haavisto, Finland’s Foreign Minister tweeted, “Deeply saddened by the terrorist attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz, Iran. My thoughts are with the families of the victims.Finland strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
The Kremlin also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of condolences to his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, expressing Moscow’s readiness to expand cooperation with Tehran to counter-terrorism. Turkey also condoled the Iranian nation when its Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter, “We strongly condemn the cruel and heinous terrorist attack in Iran that targeted the Shia holy shrine in Shiraz.”China, Venezuela, Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Syria, Oman, and Pakistan also offered condolences via messages or phone calls with Iranian officials.
The European Union however acted a day later. After 24 hours, foreign policy spokesman for the European Commission Peter Stano said, “EU strongly condemns terrorist attack on the Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine in Shiraz on Wednesday. The
attack, claimed by Daesh, is yet another example of terrorists targeting innocent civilians. EU expresses condolences to the families of the victims.”
The interim governing body of Afghanistan, or the Taliban, also offered its condolences on Friday. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, said, “The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the brutal attack and shooting against worshippers and pilgrims in Shiraz, Iran, and shares the grief of the victims' families and all Iranian people. Unfortunately, Takfiri sedition in Afghanistan has also targeted innocent people several times and they are enemies of Islam and Muslims.”
Iran vows terrorism won’t go unpunished
Iranian officials have expressed their deep sorrow and grief with the bereaved families, vowing that this heinous crime will not go unpunished.
“I offer my condolences to the families of these loved ones and all the people of Iran for the martyrdom and wounding of a group of pilgrims of the holy shrine of H.H. Ahmad ibn Mousa (PBUH) in this terrorist attack.Experience shows that the enemies of Iran take revenge for their desperation in creating rifts in the united lines of the nation and the progress of the country with violence and assassination.This evil act will definitely not go unanswered, and the security and law enforcement agencies, having identified the bedrock of this atrocious crime, will punish its leaders and designers and give a regretful answer,” President Ebrahim Raisi wrote in his message on Thursday morning.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also said that he, along with his colleagues at the foreign ministry, will not allow national security to be toyed with by terrorists.
“I and all my colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs express our condolences for the martyrdom of the pilgrims who were oppressed by the terrorist crime in the Holy Shrine of Shah Cheragh in Shiraz and we pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Amir Abdollahian wrote on Thursday.
According to the foreign minister, this crime made the sinister intentions of the promoters of terror and violence in Iran completely clear. “There is reliable information that the enemies have designed a multi-layered project to make Iran insecure,” Amir Abdollahian added.
“Undoubtedly, we will not allow Iran's national security and interests to be toyed with terrorists and foreign interventionists who claim (of defending) human rights,” he concluded.
Following the horrifying terrorist attack, Iran’s interior minister and first vice president traveled to Shiraz to explore the dimensions of the event and get first-hand information and give the necessary guidelines.
Iran’s top intelligence bodies issued a joint statement on Friday pointing to the major role of foreign spy agencies, especially the CIA, in orchestrating the violent riots in Iran over the past weeks.Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued the statement explaining different aspects of the recent riots in Iran in detail.“Continuous and precise” intelligence monitoring in the past year as well as acquired documents during the recent unrest reveals “numerous examples and undeniable references of the all-out role of the American terrorist regime in designing, implementing, and maintaining” the unrest, they said.The statement further elaborates on the issue by offering facts on three categories “before the unrest,” “during the unrest” and “after the unrest,” Press TV reported.