Iran arrests ‘accomplice’ of IS-claimed shrine attack that occurred during Mahsa Amin tributes
- Suspect, arrested on Sunday evening in Shiraz, had not entered the shrine, and his alleged role was not clear
- Shooting at the shrine came on the same day thousands of people across Iran paid tribute to Mahsa Amini, 40 days after her death in police custody
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State media had initially given a death toll of 15.
“The second person involved in the terrorist operation at the sacred sanctuary, who provided support, has been arrested,” said local deputy governor Esmail Mohebipour, quoted by IRNA.
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Iranian forces reportedly open fire on protesters mourning Mahsa Amini 40 days after her death
The suspect, arrested on Sunday evening in Shiraz, had not entered the shrine, and his alleged role was not clear.
The perpetrator of the attack in Shiraz, identified by local media as Hamed Badakhshan, died of wounds sustained while he was being arrested, a local official said Saturday.
The shooting at the shrine came on the same day that thousands of people across Iran paid tribute to Mahsa Amini, 40 days after her death in police custody.
Amini, 22, died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly breaching the country’s Islamic dress code for women.
Remarks made on Thursday by President Ebrahim Raisi appeared to link the Shiraz attack, one of the country’s deadliest in years, with the protests and “riots” following Amini’s death.
Iranian students defy protest ultimatum despite crackdown across country
In funeral processions for victims in Shiraz on Saturday, crowds chanted slogans condemning the United States, Israel and Britain for allegedly being “behind the riots”.
During the mourning ceremony, Major General Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, urged the “limited number of youths deceived” by Iran’s enemies to put an end to the unrest.
About 1,000 people have been indicted in Tehran over the rioting and the trials will be held in public this week, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the head of the judiciary in the Iranian capital as saying on Monday.
Additional reporting by dpa
