Three attackers opened fire from a car on pilgrims and workers at the shrine of Shah Cheragh, a brother of the eighth Imam Reza, the state news agency IRNA reported. The police arrested two of them, and the third is being sought. IRNA blamed Sunni extremists for the attack.
The majority of Muslims in Iran belong to the Shia faith. According to the semi-state news agency Tasnim, women and children are among the dead. In addition, there are said to have been ten injured.
shots at mourners
An eyewitness also reported on Wednesday that security forces shot at mourners at Mahsa Amini’s grave in Sakes. The death of the 22-year-old in police custody triggered the wave of protests against the government in Tehran that has been going on for weeks. People had gathered at Amini’s grave to commemorate the 22-year-old. The semi-state news agency INSA reported that around 10,000 people took part on the last day of the mourning period. In Iran, a family member is traditionally mourned for 40 days.
Videos on social media showed thousands of people in sakes walking to the cemetery despite a large-scale police operation. INSA reported that there had been clashes with the police on the outskirts of the city. The Internet, the most important communication medium for government critics, was switched off in Sakes for security reasons. According to other eyewitnesses, the mourners at Amini’s grave chanted “Woman. Life. Freedom,” the rallying cry of the protest movement.
Meanwhile, the US imposed new sanctions on the Iranian leadership. As the US Treasury Department announced in Washington on Wednesday, the new US sanctions are aimed at the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and his deputy, high-ranking officials such as the director of the notorious Ewin prison in the capital Tehran and members of the secret service .
The US accuses them of overseeing organizations involved in the violent crackdown on protests and killings, including of children. As a result of the sanctions, any assets in the US of those affected will be frozen. Doing business with them is prohibited for US citizens.
Source: Nachrichten
