Iran’s president says protests laid ground for terror attack
Tehran, Oct 27 (EFE).- Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday suggested widespread protests gripping the country over the death of a young Kurdish woman in police custody had facilitated a terror attack that killed 15 people at a Shiite shrine in Shiraz.
Raisi vowed a “severe response” to the terror attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine in the southern city on Wednesday, where a further 40 were injured when a gunman opened fire.
“The intention of the enemy is to disturb progress in the country, the the disturbances have paved the way for acts of terrorism,” Raisi said in a televised address.
Wednesday’s attack was claimed by the Islamic State terror organization.
Police in Shiraz detained the alleged assailant, who was described as a foreign, Sunni extremist.
It comes amid nationwide unrest in the Islamic republic that erupted in response to the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16 after she was arrested by the country’s so-called morality police for alleged improper use of the obligatory veil.
On Wednesday, thousands of people defied official orders to pay tribute to Amini 40 days after her death in accordance with local tradition.
Under the slogan “women, life, freedom,” the protests have rumbled across Iran from cities in the country’s Kurdish regions to the capital Tehran and Isfahan.
Over 230 people have been killed in the unrest, according to the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights. EFE
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