Gunmen Kill at Least 15 in Attack on Shrine in Iran

A file photo of the shrine of Shah Cheragh.
A file photo of the shrine of Shah Cheragh.
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Gunmen Kill at Least 15 in Attack on Shrine in Iran

A file photo of the shrine of Shah Cheragh.
A file photo of the shrine of Shah Cheragh.

Armed men attacked a shrine in the Iranian city of Shiraz on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people, state news agency IRNA said, as security forces clashed with protesters marking 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini in custody.

IRNA described the attackers as "takfiri terrorists", a label used by Iranian officials to refer to hardline, armed extremist groups like ISIS.

The attackers were in a car and shot at pilgrims and staff at the entrance to the shrine of Shah Cheragh, the agency quoted witnesses as saying. Police arrested two of the three "terrorists" and were looking for the third.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said several women and children were among the dead.

The attack took place on the same day that Iranian security forces opened fire at mourners who gathered in Amini's Kurdish home town of Saqez, according to a witness.

"Riot police shot mourners who gathered at the cemetery for Mahsa's memorial ceremony ... dozens have been arrested," the witness said. Iranian authorities were not available to comment.

Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency said about 10,000 people had gathered at the cemetery, adding that the internet was cut off after clashes between security forces and people there.

Videos on social media showed thousands of Iranians marching towards the cemetery where Amini is buried despite the heavy presence of riot police. Activists had called for protests across the country to mark 40 days since she died after being detained for "inappropriate attire".

Demonstrations ignited by the 22-year-old's death in the custody of Iran's morality police on Sept. 16 have become one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.

A wide range of Iranians have come out on to the streets, with some calling for the downfall of the regime and chanting "Death to (Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei".

A witness said "men and women have gathered around Amini's grave at the Aichi cemetery in Saqez, chanting 'Woman, Life, Freedom'". Another witness in Saqez said the cemetery was filled with members of the volunteer Basij militia and riot police.

"But people from all around the Kurdistan province are here. We are all mourning Mahsa's death together."

Fearing the 40-day anniversary of Amini's death would fuel further violent protests, security police had warned her family not to hold a memorial procession or "their son will be arrested", rights groups said.

However, the governor of Kurdistan Zarei Kusha denied any state limitation for holding a memorial service, adding that "it was the decision of her family not to hold a gathering", according to state media.



Iran Opposition Leader Karroubi to be Freed from House Arrest, His Son Says

Iran's presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi (3rd R) joins a crowd of supporters in Tehran June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Demotix/File Photo
Iran's presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi (3rd R) joins a crowd of supporters in Tehran June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Demotix/File Photo
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Iran Opposition Leader Karroubi to be Freed from House Arrest, His Son Says

Iran's presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi (3rd R) joins a crowd of supporters in Tehran June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Demotix/File Photo
Iran's presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi (3rd R) joins a crowd of supporters in Tehran June 17, 2009. REUTERS/Demotix/File Photo

Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi will be released from house arrest on Monday, state media reported, 14 years after he was detained for calling for a rally in support of protests that swept the Arab world in 2011.

"My father was told by security agents that his house arrest will end today," his son Hossein Karroubi told state news agency IRNA, adding that security agents would remain at the premises until April 8 due to security concerns.

The 87-year-old, ailing mid-level cleric has remained defiant, questioning the legitimacy of the clerical establishment in statements published by pro-reform websites.

After calling for a rally in solidarity with pro-democracy uprisings, Karroubi - along with ex-prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard, a prominent academic - were put under house arrest in February 2011.

They have not been put on trial or publicly charged, Reuters reported.

Former parliament speaker Karroubi and Mousavi ran for election in 2009 and became figureheads for Iranians who staged eight months of mass protests after a vote they believed was rigged to bring back hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Karroubi's son Hossein told pro-reform Jamaran news website that his father demanded the release of Mousavi.

"They told my father that the same process ... would be carried out for Mousavi within the next few months and Mousavi too would be released," the Jamaran website quoted him as saying.

Iran's judiciary made no comment.

Karroubi, like Mousavi and Rahnavard, had been under round-the-clock surveillance by security guards initially living in his home. But conditions improved in past years for Karroubi, with some family and politicians allowed to visit him.

Suffering from various medical complications, Karroubi has been taken to hospital several times for heart surgery and treatment.

During his election campaign, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian promised to make an effort for their release.