Ministry of Intelligence Releases Names and Images of Attackers in Tehran Attacks

One day after the attacks in Tehran, the Ministry of Intelligence published the names and images of the bodies of the attackers on the Parliament and the Khomeini shrine, without disclosing their last names. The ministry announced that these individuals entered Iran in August 2016 'under the command of Abu Aisha, a high-ranking ISIS commander' and had returned abroad after his death. On Thursday, June 8, the ministry released images of the bodies of these individuals, naming them Ramin, Qayyum, Fereydoun, Abu Jihad, and Saryas. Earlier, Reza Seyfollahi, the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stated that the perpetrators of these attacks were 'Iranian.' According to the Ministry of Intelligence's statement, the attackers on the Iranian Parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini were 'five individuals with a history of terrorism linked to Wahhabi and Takfiri groups who had been attracted to ISIS, left the country, and participated in several operations of this group in Mosul and Raqqa.' Iranian officials and institutions use the term 'Takfiri groups' to refer to organizations like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, as well as some Sunni groups opposed to the government. The term 'Wahhabi groups' is also used in the Ministry of Intelligence's statement, which is typically employed by Iranian officials to describe Sunni groups 'affiliated' with Saudi Arabia. While the Ministry of Intelligence reported the participation of five individuals in these two attacks, Iranian officials had previously stated on Wednesday that four attackers on the Parliament and two attackers on the Khomeini shrine were killed, and a non-armed woman suspected of being connected to them was arrested. According to this statement, these individuals entered the country in 2016 'under the command of Abu Aisha, a high-ranking ISIS commander, and intended to carry out terrorist operations in religious cities but fled Iran after the complete dismantling of the network and a blow to the main individuals of this case, including... Abu Aisha.' In December 2016, Iran's Minister of Intelligence stated that security forces had identified and killed 'one of the leaders of ISIS' in 'border areas' of Iran. Mahmoud Alavi referred to this 'senior member of ISIS' as 'Abu Aisha Kurdi' and stated that he was identified and killed along with several other suicide bombers at the border of the country. In this context, Iranian security officials confirmed the occurrence of two clashes between intelligence, security, and law enforcement forces in Kermanshah province with teams 'affiliated with ISIS' in late August 2016, announcing that four 'ISIS-affiliated individuals' were killed and six others were arrested in these clashes. In its statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Intelligence announced that due to 'certain social and security considerations,' it would not disclose the last names of the attackers on the Parliament and the Khomeini shrine. Hours before the release of this statement, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, announced that 'individuals from the background' of the attackers had been arrested, but 'some aspects of the matter cannot be disclosed at this time.' Hossein Sajjadi Nia, the head of Tehran police, also reported the arrest of five individuals 'suspected' of being connected to the attack on the Khomeini shrine in Tehran. Hamid Bahmaniyari, the police chief of southwest Tehran, also announced that a woman who was unarmed but 'was present on the sidelines of the events' of the attack on the Khomeini shrine 'appeared to be in contact with the terrorists' and was arrested. In the armed attack on the Parliament building and the Khomeini shrine in Tehran, a total of 17 people were killed and 52 were injured. The Islamic State group, ISIS, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attacks on Wednesday in Tehran and threatened that more attacks against Iran 'are on the way.'