About five hours after the first reports, Iranian news agencies said four people who had attacked parliament were dead and the incident was over.At least 12 people were killed by the attackers, the head of Iran's emergency department, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.First video emerges of the aftermath of Iran Parliament shooting incident#IranParliament pic.twitter.com/04WTu9PrnV
— Press TV (@PressTV) June 7, 2017
"I was inside the parliament when shooting happened. Everyone was shocked and scared. I saw two men shooting randomly," said one journalist at the scene, who asked not to be named.Soon after the assault on parliament, another bomber detonated a suicide vest near the shrine of the Republic's revered founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, a few kilometres south of the city, Zolfaghari said, according to Tasnim. A second attacker was shot dead, he said.THIRD ATTACK FOILED - MINISTRYThe Intelligence Ministry said security forces had arrested another "terrorist team" planning a third attack, without giving further details.The attacks took place less than a month after the re-election of President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, whose landslide victory defeated candidates supported by the hardline clergy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is responsible for national security."The atmosphere is tense. It is a blow to Rouhani. How can four armed men enter the parliament, where a very tight security has always been in place," said a senior official, who asked not to be named.The Intelligence Ministry called on people to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement. Despite unconfirmed reports of a hostage situation, state television said parliament had resumed, and broadcast footage of what it said was the opening session proceeding normally."Some coward terrorists infiltrated one of the buildings of parliament. They were confronted. It was not a major issue. Our security forces have taken necessary steps," parliament speaker Ali Larijani said in an open session broadcast live by state TV.Attacks are highly rare in Tehran and other major cities though a Sunni militant group named Jundallah and its splinter group Ansar al Furqan have been waging a deadly insurgency, mostly in more remote areas, for almost a decade.Iran's restive Sistan and Baluchestan province, in the southeast on the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to the Balouch minority and has long been a hotbed of Sunni insurgents fighting the Shi'ite-led Islamic Republic.Last year Iranian authorities said they had foiled a plot by Sunni militants to bomb targets in Tehran and other cities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Islamic State has often urged its fighters to attack Iranian targets and lambasted "heretic" Shi'ite Iran for helping the Syrian and Iraqi governments battle Islamic State, which considers Shi'ites to be infidels.The video released by Islamic State's news agency Amaq included an audio track of a man saying: "Oh God, thank you. . Do you think we will leave? No! We will remain, God willing."Explosion at the Khomenei Mausoleum, Tehran#IranAttack pic.twitter.com/M3ahwcc4zo
— Dr Can Erimtan (@TheErimtanAngle) June 7, 2017