Iran’s Khamenei Vows Revenge after Deadly Attack in Shiraz, Raisi Links Attack to Protests

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber during an inspection tour of the injured in Shiraz on Thursday, October 27, 2022. (IRNA)
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber during an inspection tour of the injured in Shiraz on Thursday, October 27, 2022. (IRNA)
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Iran’s Khamenei Vows Revenge after Deadly Attack in Shiraz, Raisi Links Attack to Protests

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber during an inspection tour of the injured in Shiraz on Thursday, October 27, 2022. (IRNA)
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber during an inspection tour of the injured in Shiraz on Thursday, October 27, 2022. (IRNA)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed on Thursday to retaliate against an attack claimed by ISIS on a shrine in the Iranian city of Shiraz on Wednesday, in which 15 people were killed.

The assault is expected to aggravate tensions amid widespread anti-government protests that erupted since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in police custody on Sept. 16.

Khamenei said the assailants “will surely be punished” and called on Iranians to unite.

“We all have a duty to deal with the enemy and its traitorous or ignorant agents,” Reuters quoted his statement, which was read on state television a day after the attack.

“All our people ranging from the security bodies and the judiciary body and activists in the field of media must be united against the wave that disregards and disrespects people’s lives, their security and sanctities,” he said.

Wednesday's incident came on the same day that Iranian security forces clashed with increasingly strident protesters marking 40 days since Amini's death.

In a speech Thursday, President Ebrahim Raisi described the ongoing protests as “riots” that allowed for the shooting to take place and affirmed Iran would respond, according to state media.

“The enemy wants the riots to pave the way for terrorist attacks. The enemy is always the enemy,” Raisi contended. “They go to the shrine of Shah Cheragh and open fire at innocent worshipers and then ISIS claims responsibility for the attack.”

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in a statement carried by state media that Iran will certainly retaliate.

“We will certainly not allow Iran’s national security and interests to be toyed with by terrorists and foreign meddlers who claim to defend human rights,” the FM stressed.

“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 drawn up a multi-layered project to make Iran insecure.”

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi blamed the protests sweeping Iran for paving the ground for the Shiraz attack.

The commander of the country’s Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, for his part, said Iran will retaliate.

“We firmly declare: The fire of revenge of the people of Iran will finally catch up with them and punish them for their shameful deeds,” Hossein Salami was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

CCTV footage broadcast on state TV on Thursday showed the attacker entering the shrine after hiding an assault rifle in a bag and shooting as worshippers tried to flee and hide in corridors.

He was shown being arrested by police after being shot and injured. State media said he was not Iranian, but did not give his nationality.

Officials have called three days of mourning in the southern province of Fars, after the attack in the provincial capital of Shiraz.

Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq and China condemned the attack.



Iran Nuclear Tensions Escalate: Tehran Warns against 'Military Adventurism', China Urges Dialogue

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
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Iran Nuclear Tensions Escalate: Tehran Warns against 'Military Adventurism', China Urges Dialogue

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)

China has urged a return to negotiations to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis as Washington called on Tehran to halt its nuclear escalation and missile activities. Meanwhile, Iran lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council, warning of swift retaliation against any US or Israeli attack.

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday his threat of an unprecedented strike on Iran if it refuses his offer for talks. According to sources, Trump sent a message to the Iranian leadership in early March, giving Tehran a two-month deadline to respond.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed the possibility of an external attack on Monday but warned the US of a strong response if it took military action. He stated that if Washington attempted to incite unrest within Iran, “the Iranian people would respond as they have in the past”.

Later, Iran formally complained to the UN Security Council about what it described as “reckless and hostile” US statements.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote that Tehran “strongly warns against any military adventurism and will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime, against its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or national interests.”

China, for its part, criticized Washington’s threats of military force against Iran’s nuclear program. According to the Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged the US to return to the negotiating table and demonstrate goodwill, stressing that sanctions and military threats will not lead to a resolution.

He further emphasized that Beijing believes the only effective solution is a political and diplomatic one and urged a renewed consensus within the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani rejected the threats against Iran. In a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, he expressed Iraq’s commitment to Iran’s security and stability.

Iraq’s official news agency reported that Sudani emphasized coordination among Islamic nations to confront shared challenges and threats, fostering security and stability.

In response to Khamenei’s speech, the Trump administration reiterated its determination to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. While reaffirming its preference for diplomacy, it warned that other options remain on the table.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration will not allow a nuclear Iran.

She accused Iran of being a key state sponsor of terrorism, supporting groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda. She also pointed to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US designates as a terrorist organization.

Referencing Trump’s message to Iran, she outlined Washington’s demands: Tehran must halt its nuclear escalation, end its ballistic missile program, dismantle its regional proxy networks, cease aggressive activities, stop repressing its own people, and abandon the destabilizing actions of the IRGC.