Minister Warns of Israeli Push for Religious Discord in Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian intelligence minister cautioned against the Zionist regime’s plot to create ethnic and religious division in Iran in order to divert attention from its own crimes.
In comments in the southern city of Shiraz on Saturday, Esmaeil Khatib said the recent stabbing attack at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in the northeastern city of Mashhad indicated that religious sites are favorite targets for Takfiri terrorists.
The intelligence minister also noted that plots to incite ethnic and religious division between Shiite and Sunni Muslims or among other ethnic groups are hatched to draw attention away from the Zionist regime’s crimes.
He warned that Israel is attempting to create new security challenges in Iran by using media and technological tools.
Stressing the need for the vigilance of clerics, elites and ordinary people to thwart the hostile plots, the intelligence minister said, “The Zionist regime is trying to play the role of gendarme of the region with support from the global arrogance and the partnership of a number of Arab countries.”
A foreign assailant stabbed three clergymen at the shrine of the eighth Shiite Imam in Mashhad on April 5, killing one and injuring two others.
The death toll from the stabbing attack reached two after another cleric succumbed to his wounds at a local hospital in Mashhad on Thursday.
The attacker, 21, was identified as Abdullatif Muradi, a man of Uzbek descent. He had reportedly entered Iran illegally from Pakistan a year ago before residing in Mashhad.
