ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on a shrine in the Iranian city of Shiraz on Wednesday, according to a statement on the group's Telegram channel.
Iran's supreme leader on Thursday vowed to retaliate against those threatening the country's security.
The gunmen's attack on the Shiite shrine killed 15 people and wounded dozens, authorities said, and President Ebrahim Raisi promised that the shooting would not go unanswered.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the assailants "will surely be punished" and called on Iranians to unite.
"We all have a duty to deal with the enemy and its traitorous or ignorant agents," Mr Khamenei said a day after the attack.
Mr Raisi appeared to link the mass protests against the government to the ISIS attack.
“The enemy’s goal is to disrupt the progress of the country. The enemy wants the riots to pave the way for terrorist attacks. The enemy is always an enemy.”
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the protests sweeping Iran paved the way for the Shiraz attack, and Mr 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," Mr Raisi said before ISIS claimed 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."
CCTV footage broadcast on state TV on Thursday showed the attacker entering the shrine after hiding an assault rifle in a bag and shooting as worshippers tried to flee and hide in corridors.
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 unjam his weapon and opened fire on his pursuers, before entering a courtyard and shooting worshippers. Women and children were among the dead, according to the agency.
"I heard sounds of gunfire after we prayed," a witness told state TV. "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."
Iranian officials said they had arrested a gunman who carried out the attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine.
"We have not been able to interrogate him yet," deputy provincial governor Easmail Mohebipour told the Tasnim news agency.
State media blamed "takfiri terrorists", a label Tehran uses for hardline Sunni militants such as ISIS.
The UAE condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the Iranian government and ts people after "this heinous crime". China said it was shocked by the attack and strongly condemned the incident.
The group has claimed previous attacks in Iran, including deadly twin bombings in 2017 at Iran's parliament and the tomb of its founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Iran has been shaken by more than a month of anti-government demonstrations, the biggest challenge to the regime in a decade.
Thousands of protesters were on the streets of a north-western city to mark 40 days since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, which sparked the protests.
Shiite Muslims commemorate death 40 days afterwards, typically with an outpouring of grief.
In Amini’s Kurdish home town of Saqez, the birthplace of the nationwide unrest now hitting Iran, crowds walked through the local cemetery and thronged her gravesite.
“Death to the dictator,” protesters shouted at the Aichi cemetery, where women ripped off their headscarves and waved them above their heads.
Other videos showed a large procession making its way along a motorway and through a dusty field towards Amini’s grave.
There were reports of road closures in the area.
While the ayatollah and the president tried to link the ISIS attack to the protests, former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami said that “violence cannot be answered with violence” in a statement carried online.
Mr Khatami’s name and image have been banned in Iranian media since 2015 over his reformist political views, which call for changing the Islamic republic from within.
“If [the people] see that the conditions of this life are not provided [by the government], they have the right to criticise and even protest,” Mr Khatami said.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
Twenty20 squad: Babar Azam (captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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Napoleon
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