Alwaght- Iran's Supreme Leader Sayed Ali Khamenei said that the country will “definitely punish” those behind Wednesday terrorist attack on a holy shrine in the southwestern city of Shiraz.
“The heinous crime in the holy shrine of Hazrat Ahmed bin Musa, peace be upon him, which led to the martyrdom and injury of dozens of innocent men, women and children, made our hearts saddened,” a statement released by his office read.
“The perpetrator or perpetrators behind this sad crime will certainly be punished, but the pain of the loved ones and the desecration of the shrine of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) will not be compensated except by searching for the root cause of these disaster and taking decisive and wise action about it,” the statement further said.
He called on the people, security forces, and judiciary to be vigilant and united in the face of the ”foreign-designed conspiracies.”
His statement concluded with an optimism that the people and the responsible institutions “will surely overcome the evil plots of the enemies.”
A terrorist attack on Wednesday killed 15 and injured dozens. A gunman broke into the heavily-populated holy site and opened discriminate fire at the civilians. He was arrested shortly after the massacre.
Western-backed Terrorist Groups' Hands?
Iran has been a scene of riots over the past month, largely backed by Western countries.
Protests at death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, following her fainting in a police station soon turned violent by Western-sponsored rioters.
President Sayed Ibrahim Raisi ordered a through investigation into the incident. Result of a probe suggested that Amini died of a stroke. Her doctor under whose supervision she was since she was 7 said she had a background disease and had undergone a brain surgery for a tumor.
Terrorist groups Like Komala, MKO, and Pejak based in Germany, France, Britain threatened Iran with a forceful regime change as protests unfolded. Their leaders from European capitals called for an armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic to overthrow a system replaced a pro-Western dictatorship in 1979.
The West does not hide its interest in a civil war in Iran. Several MKO conferences were attended by American lawmakers and European officials, calling for use of armed force for regime change in Iran.
European leaders and the US President Joe Biden since the first days of the unrest voiced support to rioters.
During the protests, Iranian intelligence and security forces said they foiled attacks designed by these terrorists and funded and equipped by the West and its regional allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Iran had warned that it would respond decisively to any terrorist acts. A fortnight ago, the IRGC ground forces shelled terrorist positions in Iraqi Kurdistan for their attempts to launch attacks inside Iran.
