Iran’s Raisi links ‘riots’ to Shiraz shrine attack

Iran’s President Raisi promised a ‘severe response’ following the Shiraz shrine attack, in an apparent attempt to link it to ongoing anti-government protests.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said that “riots” pave the way for “terror” attacks, a day after a deadly assault on a shrine in the southern city of Shiraz was claimed by ISIL (ISIS).

“The intention of the enemy is to disrupt the country’s progress, and then these riots pave the ground for terrorist acts,” he said in televised remarks on Thursday, in an apparent attempt to link the shrine attack to ongoing anti-government protests in the country.

At least 15 people were killed on Wednesday in an attack on an important Shia Muslim shrine in Shiraz, according to official media.

State television said it was carried out by an armed attacker during evening prayers at the Shah Cheragh shrine, and left at least 19 people wounded.

The assailant was a man “in his 30s” who had been detained by the security forces, officials said.

ISIL, which once controlled vast swaths of territory across Syria and Iraq, has claimed previous violence in Iran, including deadly twin attacks in 2017 that targeted parliament and the tomb of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

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