Terror Strikes Tehran
By Robin Wright
Terrorists attacked two of the most important
symbols of Iran’s Islamic government—its well-guarded parliament building and
the lavish shrine where the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini is
buried. The basic facts on Wednesday, as reported by Iranian media, followed a familiar
pattern: mid-morning, four gunmen penetrated security in the parliament’s Hall
of Visitors and opened fire, sparking a dramatic standoff with security forces,
which spanned four hours. Government snipers took up positions around the
imposing Majlis building and helicopters hovered overhead as people inside
tried to drop out of windows to safety. At least one attacker detonated
a suicide vest. At Khomeini’s tomb, two people—one a woman—opened fire on
pilgrims and then detonated a bomb at the entrance. In the twin attacks, the
deadliest in Iran in at least a decade, thirteen people were killed, plus six
assailants, and forty-three were injured.
Accounts then quickly
diverged over just who was responsible for the terrorist rampage. The Islamic
State claimed credit for its first-ever attack in Iran. Soon after the attacks, ISIS released a twenty-four-second video through its Amaq news agency, which
showed a rifle-toting gunman in parliament, standing over a bloodied body. The
attacker invoked terms used in ISIS propaganda about the group’s ability to
survive in the Middle East even as it loses its caliphate in neighboring Iraq
and Syria. Amid gunshots, the gunman said, “Oh God, thank you. Do you think we
will leave? No! We will remain, God willing.” A member of Iran’s parliament
later confirmed that the shooting took place in his office and that the dead
man was a member of his staff.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
Corps had a different version, however. It charged that Saudi Arabia and the
United States were ultimately to blame, even as it acknowledged the claim by
isis. The I.R.G.C. said, in a statement, “Public opinion in the world,
especially in Iran, recognizes this terrorist attack—which took place a week
after a joint meeting of the U.S. President and the head of one of the region’s
backward governments, which constantly supports fundamentalist terrorists—as
very significant.” It charged that the ISISclaim of responsibility “reveals
(Saudi Arabia’s) hand in this barbaric action.” Read on....
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