World
15 dead in attack on shrine in Iran
Iranian officials have arrested a gunman who opened fire on a Shi’ite shrine in the city of Shiraz in Iran on Wednesday, killing 15 people.
Iranian officials said they had arrested a gunman who carried out the attack. ISIS (Daesh) has claimed responsibility.
The group has claimed previous attacks in Iran, including deadly twin bombings in 2017 which targeted Iran’s parliament and the tomb of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Wednesday’s killing of Shi’ite pilgrims came on the same day that Iranian security forces clashed with increasingly strident protesters marking the 40-day anniversary since the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Reuters reported.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi blamed the protests sweeping Iran for paving the ground for the Shiraz attack, and President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran would respond, according to state media.
“Experience shows that Iran’s enemies, after failing to create a split in the nation’s united ranks, take revenge through violence and terror,” said Raisi, speaking before Islamic State released its claim of responsibility.
“This crime will definitely not go unanswered, and the security and law enforcement forces will teach a lesson to those who designed and carried out the attack.”
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the attacker shot an employee at the shrine entrance before his rifle jammed and he was chased by bystanders.
He managed to fix his gun and opened fire on his pursuers, before entering a courtyard and shooting worshippers. Several women and children were among the dead, it said.
A witness at Shah Cheragh told state television: “I heard sounds of gunfire after we prayed. We went to a room next to the shrine, this lowlife came and fired a barrage of shots. Then (the bullet) hit my arm and leg, it hit my wife’s back, but thank God my child was not hit, he is seven years old.”
The attack in Shiraz took place at the end of a day of confrontations across the country between security forces and protesters, with video footage showing some of the most violent clashes in more than a month of unrest following Amini’s death, Reuters reported.
The demonstrations have become one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution. A wide range of Iranians have come out onto the streets, with some calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic and the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Security forces opened fire at mourners in Amini’s Kurdish home town of Saqez on Wednesday, according to a witness.
“Riot police shot mourners who gathered at the cemetery for Mahsa’s memorial ceremony … dozens have been arrested,” the witness said. Iranian authorities were not available to comment.
The semi-official ISNA news agency said about 10,000 people were at the cemetery, adding that the internet was cut off after clashes between security forces and people there.
Videos on social media showed crowds packing streets in many cities and the bazaars of Tehran and some other cities shut down with people chanting “Death to Khamenei”.
World
Trump says United States will get uranium from Iran
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would get enriched uranium from Iran, as the two countries struggle to reach an agreement on ending the Gulf war, Reuters reported.
“We’re going to get it,” Trump told a reporter as he left a White House event.
One of Trump’s central objectives in launching military strikes against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has yet to hand over more than 900 pounds (408 kg) of highly enriched uranium.
World
Trump says Iran “should wave the white flag of surrender”
When asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “Well, you’ll find out, because I’ll let you know … They know what not to do.”
President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed Iran’s military capability and said Tehran “should wave the white flag of surrender” but is too proud to do so, Reuters reported.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran’s military has been reduced to firing “peashooters” and that Tehran privately wants to make a deal despite its public sabre-rattling.
“They play games, but let me just tell you, they want to make a deal. And who wouldn’t, when your military is totally gone?” he said.
Trump heaped praise on the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in the region. “It’s like a piece of steel. Nobody’s going to challenge the blockade. And I think it’s working out very well,” he said, read the report.
When asked what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump said: “Well, you’ll find out, because I’ll let you know … They know what not to do.”
Trump said Iran “should save the white flag of surrender.”
“If this were a fight, they’d stop it,” said Trump.
World
Secret Service says it exchanged gunfire with armed suspect near White House
The suspect was not on the White House property, Quinn said.
The U.S. Secret Service said on Monday its officers confronted an armed and “suspicious individual” near the White House who later fired at them before fleeing on foot and being shot by law enforcement, Reuters reported.
The incident led to a brief lockdown at the White House.
Agents patrolling the outer perimeter of the White House complex identified a person who Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said was a “suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm.”
He briefly fled on foot after being approached by Secret Service officers and fired in their direction, Quinn said at a press conference.
Secret Service then fired at the suspect who was hit and subsequently hospitalized, Quinn added.
Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade transited through the area “not long before” the incident, Quinn said. There was no indication that the suspect intended to approach Vance’s motorcade, the Secret Service deputy director said.
A juvenile bystander was hit by the suspect but did not receive any life-threatening injuries and was being treated at a hospital, Quinn added.
Agents observed “visual print of a firearm” in considering the individual’s behavior as suspicious when he was spotted, Quinn told reporters.
The suspect was not on the White House property, Quinn said.
Law enforcement have been on alert in recent days in the U.S. capital following a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner late last month over which a man has been arrested, read the report.
Quinn was asked if Monday’s incident was linked to “other recent attempts” on President Donald Trump’s life. Trump was in the White House when this incident unfolded.
“Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don’t know but we will find out,” Quinn said.
The Secret Service deputy director confirmed that a weapon was recovered from the suspect but did not elaborate.
The Secret Service said earlier its personnel were on the scene of the officer-involved shooting at 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C.
The DC Police Department was handling the probe.
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