Iran blames ISIL for shrine attack, arrests foreign nationals

Tehran, Iran – Iran has blamed the ISIL (ISIS) armed group for the second attack in less than a year on a major shrine in southern Shiraz and arrested a group of foreign nationals for the assault.

“The motivation of this Daeshi [ISIL-affliated] individual was to take revenge for the executions of the two terrorists of the previous incident,” said the governor of the province of Fars, where the shooting occurred.

Iranian state-linked media also pointed out that ISIS-K, the Khorasan province affiliate of the Islamic State, had last month appeared to threaten Iran for the execution of two of its operatives.

Speaking on Monday, Ramezan Sharif, the spokesperson of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said: “The goals of Daesh [ISIL] and other terrorists against the national interests and people of Iran are intertwined,” and vowed that “we will give a decisive response to the terrorists”.

A lone gunman, identified as Rahmatollah Nowruzof from Tajikistan, entered the Shah Cherag Shrine on Sunday evening and opened fire on pilgrims and staff, killing one and injuring several others. Earlier reports had suggested two shooters were involved.

Several people were taken to the hospital in critical condition, with at least one person falling into a coma, state-linked media have reported.

The shrine, one of the holiest in Shia Islam, was also breached on October 26, 2022, when a gunman entered the compound with an assault rifle, killing 13 and injuring 40 before being shot dead.

For that attack, which Iranian officials also called a “terrorist” operation, two men from neighbouring Afghanistan were convicted of being ISIL agents and executed in early June.

Three more men were also tried and given prison sentences ranging from five to 25 years for working with the armed group, which claimed responsibility for the attack, and was also responsible for coordinated attacks in Tehran in 2017.

Sunday’s shooter was apprehended at the scene by members of the shrine’s staff and security personnel.

The semiofficial Tasnim News Agency on Monday quoted Fars province chief justice Kazem Mousavi as saying 10 people have so far been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the shooting, all of whom were foreign nationals.

“The safe house of the terrorists has also been discovered,” he said without elaborating.

After travelling to the shrine on Monday, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the assailant was being directed from abroad “as part of a network”.