The Iranian Intelligence Ministry has released the names of and other information about the five Takfiri Daesh terrorists who carried out twin attacks in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Wednesday.

The Intelligence Ministry on Thursday released a statement detailing information on the five terrorists and “affiliated nuclei,” whose full identities it said had been determined after intelligence work by the Ministry.

The statement only released the first names of the terrorists and said that their last names were being withheld due to “certain social and security considerations.”

On Wednesday, gunmen stormed Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) and the Mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, in two coordinated attacks. At least 17 people lost their lives and nearly 50 others were wounded in the assaults, which involved shootings and blasts. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks.

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According to the Intelligence Ministry’s Thursday statement, the individuals involved in carrying out the attacks were five elements with a history of past terrorist activities and linked to Wahhabi and Takfiri groups.

They were identified as Seriyas, Fereydoun, Qayyoum, Abu Jahad, and Ramin.

The statement said that the five had left Iran after being recruited by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group and had participated in the group’s atrocities in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqah.

It said they had entered Iran in July-August 2016 under the command of “Abu Ayesheh” — a high-ranking commander with the Daesh terrorist group — and planned to carry out terror attacks in religious cities in Iran, but “had fled the country following the full obliteration of the network and blows [dealt] to the case’s main elements, including the killing of Abu Ayesheh.”

Iranian security forces are seen outside the Iranian Parliament in the capital, Tehran, on June 7, 2017, during an attack on the complex. (Photo by AFP)

Wahhabi terrorist groups are closely associated with Saudi Arabia, where government-sanctioned clerics preach the strongly intolerant pseudo-ideology of Wahhabism.

Earlier on Thursday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said that it was still soon to judge whether Saudi Arabia had had a role in the attacks in Tehran.

He did say however that in the current month and in recent days, “we witnessed heavy pressure from terrorists, to the extent that we have been identifying and arresting two-member and three-member teams or single individuals every week.”

Earlier, in May, the Saudi defense minister, Mohammed bin Salman, had threatened in opaque remarks to move “the battle” to Iran.

In his earlier remarks, Alavi also said that the Intelligence Ministry had identified other individuals who helped the five terrorists stage the attacks.

While Iranian people have been mourning the victims of the terrorist attacks, there has also been a strengthened sense of unity among them.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the terror attacks in Tehran could not undermine the Iranian nation’s resolve in the face of threats.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also condemned the attacks as “cowardly,” stressing that the country would crush enemy plots through unity and solidarity.

The attacks also drew strong international condemnation, with many heads of states extending condolences to the Iranian nation and government.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) blamed the sponsors of the Takfiri Daesh for the attacks and pledged to retaliate.

The IRGC said the fact that the terrorist attacks had been carried out by Daesh just days after US President Donald Trump met with “the rulers of a regional reactionary regime,” which has been supporting Takfiri terrorists — a thinly-veiled reference to Saudi Arabia — indicated that “they have a hand in the bestial attacks.” </s> The five men who carried out twin attacks in Tehran were Iranians who joined the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria before returning last summer, the intelligence ministry said Thursday.

"The five known terrorists... after joining the Daesh (IS) terrorist group, left the country and participated in crimes carried out by this terrorist group in Mosul and Raqa," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement indicates only five people carried out Wednesday's twin attacks, rather than six originally reported.

The ministry released images and the first names of the dead attackers, who killed 17 people and wounded dozens in gun and bomb assaults on Tehran's parliamentary complex and the shrine of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Wednesday.

It said the five men were part of a network that entered Iran in July-August 2016 under the leadership of "high-ranking Daesh commander" Abu Aisha and that "intended to carry out terrorist operations in religious cities."

Abu Aisha was killed and the network forced to flee the country, the statement said.

It was not clear when the five men returned to Iran ahead of Wednesday's attacks. </s> Thousands filled the streets of the capital Friday to mourn 17 victims of two attacks this week by Islamic State militants, the first time in recent memory Sunni jihadists managed to strike the heart of the Shiite Islamic Republic.

Six attackers died — including five men and a woman who blew herself up — and several were detained in connection with the attacks Wednesday at Iran’s parliament and the tomb of Iran’s revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. More than 50 people were wounded in the morning attack on parliament, which was in session.

According to an Iranian government statement, the male attackers had returned to the country last summer after fighting for Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqah, Syria, and had “intended to carry out terrorist operations in religious cities.” The statement did not say whether the attackers were Iranian citizens.

Reza Seifollahi, deputy chief of the Supreme National Security Council, told the independent newspaper Shargh that the male attackers were Iranian.

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Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said Friday that more than three dozen suspects had been arrested across the country in connection with the attacks.

“With the help of security forces and families of the suspects, 41 people linked to the attacks and to Daesh have been arrested in different provinces,” state television quoted the interior ministry as saying, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. “Lots of documents and weaponry have been seized as well.”

The attacks came at a particularly charged time in the region, days after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing Tehran and militant groups.

Before a funeral procession at parliament early Friday for guards killed there, Iran’s supreme leader said the attacks will add to Iranians’ hatred of the United States and Saudi Arabia. In the wake of the attacks, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard also released a statement implying that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were to blame.

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Supreme leader Ali Khamenei said the attacks “will not damage the Iranian nation’s determination, and the obvious result is nothing except an increase in hate for the governments of the United States and their stooges in the region like Saudi.”

Saudi Arabia has denied responsibility for the attacks.

Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, also spoke out ahead of the funerals.

“Daesh is an international danger,” he said.

Mourners gathered outside the parliament complex Friday to watch the funeral procession. Some cried, while others chanted, “Death to Saudi Arabia,” “Death to America” and “God is greatest.” Some carried pictures of Khamenei that said, “We are ready to sacrifice our blood for you.” Onlookers reached out to touch passing victims’ coffins, wrapped in Iranian flags.

Mohammad Rasouli, 66, sitting on the ground with a group across the street, said it was his duty to attend the procession and an afternoon funeral expected at 2 p.m. during weekly prayers.

“I came with my friends to show our solidarity with our supreme leader and nation. From here, we go to Friday prayers. If we do not go there, Daesh will be emboldened,” he said.

During the procession through parliament, the heads of Iran’s executive, legislative and judiciary branches all paid their respects, including President Hassan Rouhani, Larijani and the head of the judiciary, Sadeq Amoli Larijani. Unlike other leaders, Rouhani, a moderate, didn’t blame foreign powers, but rather said the attacks targeted peace and democracy.

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Parliamentary staff who survived the attack also attended the procession under tight security. They stood alongside friends and family of the victims, who dressed in black.

Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran. Times staff reporter Hennessy-Fiske reported from Beirut.

UPDATES:

10:30 a.m.: This article was updated with details about the funeral.

This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m. </s> Tehran: The five men who carried out twin attacks in Tehran were Iranians who joined the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria before returning last summer, the intelligence ministry said Thursday.

"The five known terrorists... after joining the Daesh (IS) terrorist group, left the country and participated in crimes carried out by this terrorist group in Mosul and Raqa," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement indicates only five people carried out Wednesday`s twin attacks, rather than six originally reported.
Iranian Intelligence Ministry releases the names and other information about the five attackers of the day before.