Mass shooting in Shah Cheragh, Iran leaves leaves 15 worshipers dead

By Edward Era Barbacena

On 26 October 2022, at least 15 people were killed in a mass shooting at Shah Cheragh mosque, a Shia pilgrimage site in Shiraz in southern Iran. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

The three attackers are described by Iranian state media as apparently being takfiri terrorists. Two attackers have been arrested; the other is at large. Later the same day, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iranian authorities claimed that the attackers were not Iranian nationals. Iranian semi official Tasnim news agency stated that children are among the dead.

The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack[9] via Amaq, the group's propaganda media. According to Voice of America Persian News Network, some Iranian protestors speculated that this terrorist attack was a conspiracy of the Iranian government to divert public opinion from Iran's nationwide protests.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, it is likely that the Iranian government will exploit the massacre to deflate the protests, and use it to redirect "public attention away from the protests and channel anger toward foreign adversaries such as the Islamic State and Saudi Arabia".

The United Nations Secretary-General strongly condemned the terrorist assault on the Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine in Shiraz, Iran, claimed by the Islamic State. The message said that targeting religious places is heinous and the 

Secretary-General emphasized "bring to 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.

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi blamed the Mahsa Amini protests for paving the ground for the attack on the mausoleum.