The Shah Cheragh attack () was a

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war a ...

that occurred on 26 October 2022 at

Shah Cheragh The Shah Cheragh (; ) is a Twelver Shi'ite funerary monument and religious complex located in Shiraz, in the province of Fars, Iran. The 12th-century complex is centred around the mausoleum of Sayyid Ahmad, the son of Musa al-Kazim, who is kn ...

mosque, a

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

site in

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

in southern Iran, in which at least 13 people were killed. The

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

claimed responsibility for the attack.

Iranian authorities Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

condemned the attacks and accused the protestors of Mahsa Amini's death of paving the way for such attacks to occur. On 8 July 2023, two men were

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

for their involvement in the attack.

Background

Iran is a Shia

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

that has suffered from

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that were not carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are presented in List of assassinations and unsuccessful attempts at List o ...

by Sunni Islamists and

separatists Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

in the past. In April 2022, two Shia clerics were stabbed to death in

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

; the perpetrator was allegedly a radical Sunni Uzbek. In 2017, ISIS bombed the

mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini The Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini (; ), also known as the Holy Shrine, or the ''Haram Motahhar'', is a Shi'ite Islamic mausoleum that houses the tombs of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, his wife Khadijeh Saqafi, and his second son Ahmad Khomeini; ...

. In 2008, a bombing in a mosque in Shiraz killed 14 people.

Attack

On 26 October 2022, 15 people were killed in a mass shooting at Shah Cheragh

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

in Shiraz,

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

, Iran. The Iranian semi-official

Tasnim News Agency Tasnim News Agency () is a semi-official news agency in Iran associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Launched in 2012, its purpose is to cover a variety of political, social, economic and international subjects along with ma ...

stated that children were among the dead. The three attackers are described by Iranian state media as appearing to be '' takfiri'' terrorists. Two attackers were arrested after the attack; the other remained at large. Later the same day, Islamic State reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iranian authorities stated that the attackers were not Iranian nationals. Another suspected participant, an ISIS–K leader who allegedly facilitated the attack, was arrested on May 15. Conflicting reports from the local judiciary chief suggest that only one terrorist was involved.

Casualties

Sources report either thirteen or fifteen people as being killed as a result of the mass shooting, including children.

Perpetrator

The

claimed responsibility for the attack via Amaq, the group's propaganda media. A report by

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), also known simply as The Washington Institute (TWI), is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East. WINE ...

said ISIS had uploaded a video of the perpetrator, identified by the alias "Abu Aisha Al-Umari", declaring allegiance to the

. According to Voice of America Persian News Network, some Iranian protestors speculated that this terrorist attack was a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

of the Iranian government to divert public opinion from Iran's nationwide protests. However, Mohammad Gharawi, director of the New Generation Media Center said that

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

"is now taking revenge for the fact that Iran contributed to its elimination in Iraq and Syria". Associate professor Fouad Izadi, member of the Faculty of World Studies of the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

, said the attack was "an ISIS trademark" as the group was known for attacking mosques and shrines in the past. On the other hand, the

Institute for the Study of War The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is an American nonprofit research group and advocacy think tank founded in 2007 by military historian Kimberly Kagan and headquartered in Washington, D.C. ISW provides research and analysis of modern arm ...

assessed that the attack does not match the typical ISIS pattern and views it as an attempt to stoke sectarian tensions in Iran. Regardless of who is behind the attack, it expects the Iranian government to exploit it to weaken and/or suppress the ongoing

Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the Government of Iran, government of the Islamic Republic of Iran associated with the Death in custody, death in police custody of Death of Mahsa Amini#Victim, Mahsa Amini () began on 16 September 2022 and ca ...

Reactions

Domestic

Iranian

Supreme Leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

called on Iranians to unite and vowed to punish the perpetrators of the attack. Interior Minister

Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Shahcheraghi (, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (), is an Iranian military commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Iranian Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of th ...

blamed the

for paving the ground for the attack on the mausoleum. Officials in the Fars province, where the attack took place, declared three days of mourning. Iran's president,

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

said "Experience shows that Iran's enemies, after failing to create a split in the nation's united ranks, take revenge through violence and terror." Iranian authorities organized rallies in Shiraz and elsewhere in the country to denounce the shooting. According to state-affiliated media "large numbers of students and professors" reportedly took part in demonstrations denouncing the Shiraz terrorist attack.

International

The United Nations

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

strongly condemned the terrorist assault on the Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine in Shiraz, Iran, which is claimed by the

. The message said that targeting religious places is heinous and the Secretary-General emphasized: "bring ngto justice the perpetrators of this crime against civilians exercising their right to practice their religion". Also, the Secretary-General expressed his condolences to the bereaved families, the Iranian people, and the Iranian government wished a swift recovery for the injured.

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

offered condolences to the government and people of Iran.

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Iranian people.

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

called for the punishment of those responsible even if those responsible are their own citizens.

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

denounced the "heinous and cruel terrorist attack."

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

said that it was "Deeply saddened by the terrorist attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz" and it "strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations".

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

strongly condemned the attack and extended condolences to Iran and urged the world "unite and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations".

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

strongly condemned the terrorist attack and expressed condolences to the victims and their families.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shah Cheragh, 2022 2022 mass shootings in Asia 2022 murders in Iran 21st-century mass murder in Iran Attacks in Iran in 2022 Attacks on buildings and structures in 2022 Attacks on buildings and structures in Iran Attacks on mosques in Iran Attacks on Shiite mosques History of Fars province ISIL terrorist incidents in Iran Persecution of Shias by the Islamic State Islamist attacks on mosques Mahsa Amini protests Massacres in 2022 Mass shootings in Iran Massacres in Iran October 2022 crimes in Asia October 2022 in Iran Shia–Sunni sectarian violence Shiraz Terrorist incidents in Iran in 2022 Violence against Shia Muslims in Iran Mosque shootings Mosque massacres in Asia Islamic terrorist incidents in 2022 21st-century attacks on mosques