Just days after the most recent deadly terrorist attack in London, Tehran has been hit with a series of coordinated attacks on some of the nation's most important sites. Around 10:30 am local time on Wednesday morning, a group of four armed men raided the Iranian Parliament building and began to fire on civilians.
Across town, the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini was attacked with at least two gunmen involved in the incident. Reuters has reported that there are as many as seven dead, though the situation is still developing.
ISIS claims responsibility
According to Amaq, which is a news agency with close ties to ISIS, the terror group has claimed responsibility for these disturbing attacks. There has been no reason given for their timing, but against the backdrop of the emerging situation in Qatar, some legitimate questions may arise.
Iran has close relations to Qatar, despite recent pressure from Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states. Qatar has continued to cooperate with Iran in the mining of their North Field gas deposit. They recently reduced production from the field to inspect it, while Iran was given time to increase their production.
There has been no official evidence of collusion between Saudi Arabia and ISIS, though the House of Saud subscribes to the same branch of strict Wahhabism that ISIS embraces.
While this proves nothing, a recent report into extremist Islamist funding from the Home Office in the UK has been restricted, and there are cries of Saudi involvement from UK-based commentators. The premise is of course the arms trade, which creates healthy profits for UK-based companies.
The situation
While there were conflicting reports about hostages being taken at Parliament, Press TV is reporting that the threat has been eliminated.
There are helicopters circling the building, and a police investigation is ongoing.
Tehran is in a state of disarray, with few answers as to this morning's events. The Parliament has been locked down, and all reliable reports state that the attackers have been killed. There is no information yet as to possible connections with the developing situation in Qatar, or if ISIS has taken sides with the Gulf states.
The situation in the region seems to be getting tense, with events increasing in both speed and severity. A week ago no one would have predicted that Saudi Arabia would be on Doha's doorstep with a naval blockade, or that the suspension of LNG shipments from Qatar would be imminent.
