Iran leader shrugs off Daesh attacks in Tehran

TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday shrugged off attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Tehran that killed 13 people and were the first in Iran by the Daesh terror group.

“These fire-crackers that happened today will not have the slightest effect on the will of the people,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said after the twin attacks, which also left dozens injured. 

The attackers struck at Iran’s most potent symbols: its parliament complex in central Tehran and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who led the 1979 Islamic revolution.

President Hassan Rouhani called for global unity against violent extremism.

“Iran’s message as always is that terrorism is a global problem, and unity to fight extremism, violence and terrorism with regional and international cooperation is the most important need of today’s world,” he said in a statement.

The standoff lasted around five hours before all the gunmen holed up in parliamentary office buildings were killed.

Daesh released a video of the attackers from inside the building via its Amaq propaganda agency — a rare claim of responsibility while an attack was still going on, suggesting a degree of coordination. 

The assaults began mid-morning when four gunmen burst into the parliament complex, killing a guard and one other person, according to the ISNA news agency.

The parliament attackers were in their early 20s and spoke Arabic, according to a Revolutionary Guards intelligence official.

‘Suddenly shooting began’ 

Another official said they were dressed as women and entered through the visitors’ entrance. One eventually exploded a suicide vest while the others were killed by security forces. 

One man, recovering in a hospital bed, told state TV he was waiting to meet an MP when the shooting began.

“I was in the visitors’ lobby and suddenly shooting began. There were women and children. I escaped towards the parliament, and was shot in the leg while running,” he said. 

At roughly the same time, two assailants entered the grounds of the Khomeini mausoleum, killing a gardener and wounding several other people. 

One detonated a suicide vest, while the other was shot dead. 

It was not clear whether the shrine attackers were women, as earlier reported, or just wearing female clothing.

Iran’s emergency services said a total of 13 people were killed in the two attacks and 46 wounded.

In a statement after the attacks, the guards said they “will never allow the blood of innocents to be spilt without revenge”. 

Washington condemned the attacks, with State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert saying: “The depravity of terrorism has no place in a peaceful, civilised world.”

Parliament undeterred 

Parliament was in session as the violence unfolded and members were keen to show they were undeterred, posting selfies showing themselves as calm and continuing with regular business. 

Meanwhile, gunshots continued in the neighbouring office buildings, with police helping staff to escape from windows and snipers taking position from rooftops. 

Speaker Ali Larijani dismissed the attacks, saying they were a “trivial matter”.

The intelligence ministry said there had been a third “terrorist” team that was neutralised before the attacks started. 

Tehran was on lockdown, with streets blocked and parts of the metro closed. 

Targeted by Daesh

Messages of support were sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Syrian foreign ministry. 

The three countries are close allies in the fight against rebels and extremist groups in Syria. Iran has also been helping to battle Daesh in Iraq, which also sent its condolences.

This has made Iran, the predominant Shiite power, a priority target for Daesh, which published a rare video in Persian in March warning that it “will conquer Iran and restore it to the Sunni Muslim nation as it was before”.

 Extremist groups have clashed frequently with Iranian security forces along the borders with Iraq and Afghanistan, but the country has largely escaped attacks within its urban centres.

The intelligence ministry said in June 2016 that it had foiled a Daesh plot to carry out multiple bomb attacks in Tehran and around the country.