Iranian court sentences eight men to death over Islamic State's 2017 attacks

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Iranian court on Sunday sentenced eight men to death over the last year’s Islamic State (IS) attack on the parliament in Tehran and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum.

The sentence was issued by a Revolutionary Court following seven hearings. The defendants can appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Iran, head of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court Musa Ghazanfarabadi told state media.

He mentioned that the victims’ family would file claims against the US and Saudi Arabia, two countries Tehran repeatedly accuses of supporting IS. Both Riyadh and Washington reject those accusations.

In 2017, suicide bombers attacked Iran’s Parliament and Khomeini’s mausoleum in Tehran. IS later claimed responsibility for the attacks in an online statement.

According to Iranian state TV, 18 other suspects still face charges over the attack.

Tehran previously asserted that the five armed men and suicide bombers who were killed in the attacks had fought in Iraq and Syria where the jihadist group once controlled large swaths of territory.

The attacks had occurred less than a month after the re-election of President Hassan Rouhani. At least 17 people were killed and 40 more injured in what was considered a “rare attack” on Iranian soil.

Editing by Nadia Riva