Commander of Fajr Corps Claims About Shah Cheragh Attacker: 'He Had a Lighter and Gasoline'

In the latest statements from Islamic Republic officials regarding the armed attack on the 'Shah Cheragh' shrine in Shiraz, the commander of the Fajr Corps of Fars Province claimed that the attacker was 'a member of a network' and had 'a lighter and gasoline.' According to reports from Iranian news agencies on Tuesday, August 15, Yadollah Bouali, commander of the Fajr Corps of Fars Province, asserted that the arrested individual in connection with the attack on Shah Cheragh is 'a member of a network whose origins are not in Islamic countries.' He announced that 'more than 10 people' have been arrested in connection with the attack that occurred on Sunday evening at Shah Cheragh, and the assailant had 'a lighter and gasoline' with him, claiming that 'this network extends to several countries that are specified.' This IRGC official did not mention the names of the alleged countries. Meanwhile, Jamshid Barzegar, a journalist, noted that public opinion holds the Islamic Republic responsible for both armed attacks on Shah Cheragh in recent months. Although official media in Iran initially reported conflicting numbers regarding the casualties of the armed attack on Sunday evening, August 13, stating one to four fatalities, on Tuesday the death toll was confirmed to be two, identified as 'Mohammad Jahangiri and Gholam-Abbas Abasi.' Massoud Setayesh, spokesperson for the judiciary, emphasized in his Tuesday press conference the order from the head of the judiciary to the Fars Province judiciary to identify and pursue the 'agents' of the attack on Shah Cheragh and to utilize 'all available capacities' to 'expedite the case.' Additionally, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, head of the 'Martyrs Foundation and Affairs of Veterans,' reacted to the armed attack on Shah Cheragh, stating that 'the blood of martyrs is the foundation of the Islamic Republic's movement' and 'promotes greater unity and solidarity.' Meanwhile, some Iranians have linked this attack to the approaching anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police, suggesting a potential resurgence of nationwide protests and attributing it to the Islamic Republic's agents. Fariborz Karami Zand, a former police force member, labeled this attack as 'the execution of a repetitive scenario of armed attacks on a religious site,' tweeting: 'Once again, the think tank of the Islamic Republic committed a crime.' According to Karami Zand, this action was taken 'to portray victimhood and intensify the security atmosphere.' Additionally, Amir Farshad Ebrahimi, a political activist with a history of membership in the Ansar Hezbollah group, implicitly linked this attack to the issue of opposition to mandatory hijab and the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, tweeting: 'Coincidentally, the first image from the attack on Shah Cheragh is a bloody chador. The fortieth day of the Shah Cheragh victims coincides with the day of Mahsa Amini's murder.' Dariush Memar, a journalist, stated in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America that 'the IRGC and security apparatus claim to have security oversight in southern Iran up to the depths of Iraq and Syria and maintain extensive and serious control over all movements that forces deemed terrorist by the Islamic Republic cannot undertake, yet there have been two armed attacks at Shah Cheragh in recent months.' According to this journalist, there are 'many doubts' regarding this attack, and given the 'Islamic Republic's history of orchestrating scenarios like this during sensitive times, it seems reasonable to suggest that such a delay may not be unrelated to the current narrative, especially as we approach the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's government-sanctioned murder.'