Gunmen have attacked the Iranian parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, with a suicide bomber blowing himself up in the incident at the latter location.
Vaghaye Daily reported that a security guard had been killed at the parliament.
BNE IntelliNews spoke to a Tehran resident who said that there were some unconfirmed reports that there had also been an explosion at Imam Khomeini Metro Station in central Tehran and that the capital was currently in a state of bewilderment over the events. He added that some reports indicated there was an attacker inside parliament with an explosive belt and that officials were telling media that one explosive device placed near the shrine had been defused. Eight people were said to have been injured in the shrine attack, according to various reports.
Three gunmen burst into the heavily-guarded Iranian parliamentary complex around 1030 local time on June 7, local media said. Two attackers are shortly after said to have attacked the shrine.
One MP, Elias Hazrati, was reported by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency to have said three gunmen carrying weapons including two AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol entered the Islamic Consultative Assembly, or “Majlis”, firing at people inside.
One witness told Reuters that security forces had massed inside and outside parliament, and that the incident was now over with the assembly having been locked down.
It is not known how the attackers managed to gain access to the compound, which in recent years has been heavily fortified with crash barriers and walls. It is surrounded by the capital’s bazaar district.
Some local media tweets said three security guards had been injured in the incident, but did not mention a death.
Speculation among Iranians on Twitter as to who might be behind the attacks mentioned Islamic State which has in the past several times threatened Iran with terrorism. Iran has been heavily involved in Syria, sending aid and military advisers.
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