No group has immediately claimed the attack, but authorities in Iran have put the blame on ISIL.

Qatar has formally condemned an attack in Iran’s Shiraz City that killed one person just months after a similar attack on the same shrine left 14 people dead.

In an official statement released on Monday, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasised the nation’s unwavering position against any form of violence and terrorism, irrespective of underlying motives or causes.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates Qatar’s firm position on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of the motives and reasons,” the statement read.

The statement was released a day after an assailant launched an attack on the Shia Muslim shrine of Shah Cheragh in the Iranian city of Shiraz on Sunday. The same shrine was also attacked in October last year.

One person was killed and eight others injured, according to state media reports. The gunman, named as Tajik national Rahmatollah Nowruzof, was also neutralised IRNA reported.

Local media reports indicate that investigations into the latest assault are progressing, with Fars province chief justice Kazem Mousavi revealing the arrest of 10 suspects, all foreign nationals, in connection to the attack.

Following a visit to the shrine, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi pointed to an intricate plot behind the attack and said the assailant acted “as part of a network” directed from overseas.

Iran points fingers at ISIL

While no group has officially claimed the attack, Iranian authorities have pinned the blame the ISIL (ISIS) armed group and suggested it was revenge for its response against assailants of the previous October assault.

The Governor of the Fars province, where the tragedy unfolded, said the motivation of “this Daeshi [affiliated] individual was to take revenge for the executions of the two terrorists of the previous incident.”

The group had previously issued veiled threats to Iran after the execution of two of its members.

“The goals of Daesh [ISIL] and other terrorists against the national interests and people of Iran are intertwined,” said Ramezan Sharif, the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Sharif further pledged firm retaliation and vowed to “give a decisive response to the terrorists.”

Contrary to earlier accounts that hinted at multiple attackers, it was found that Nowruzof was the sole assailant who targeted both pilgrims and personnel working at the shrine.

On 26 October 2022, another gunman ambushed the Shah Cheragh shrine and killed 13 people before being neutralised. The culprits of that attack, both Afghan nationals, were subsequently identified as ISIL agents and were executed in June.

Iranian authorities say the group was also responsible for coordinated attacks on parliament as well as the mausoleum of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran in 2017.

Additional affiliates of the extremist faction faced trials, with three men receiving prison terms ranging from five to 25 years for their association with the group and the 2017 attacks.