On Thursday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised revenge on those who had carried out a massacre of Shiite pilgrims at the Shah Cheragh shrine in the city of Shiraz, which killed 15 people. The attack was claimed by Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group who view Shiite Muslims as apostates.
Iran is one of the few Muslim states in the world where Shiites are in the majority.
The attack comes amidst major ongoing anti-government protests against Iran’s theocratic government, which have followed in the wake of the death of a young woman in the custody of the morality police, after she was arrested for “improper hijab usage”.
Khamenei has called for unity in the face of the ISIS attack, but so far there is little indication that anti-government protests have been slowed by the massacre.