A Shi’ite cleric was shot dead in the predominantly Sunni Muslim Iranian city of Zahedan this week. The cleric’s killing comes amidst the ongoing anti-government protests, with the potential to stir up sectarian tensions in the country.
Iran’s official IRNA news outlet reported Thursday that a Shi’ite cleric, Sajjad Shahraki, from the Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Zahedan, was shot dead. The police commander of the Sistan-Baluchistan province, Ahmad Taheri, said a task force was assembled to investigate the matter and hold the assailants accountable.
Zahedan has been the place of one of the deadliest days in the midst of the ongoing protests by residents following the death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini back in September. Amini died three days after she was detained by the country’s Morality Police for unsuitable attire, sparking public outrage and widespread demonstrations.
Rights organization Amnesty International said Iranian security forces killed 66 people in its crackdown on the demonstrations in Zahedan last September 30. The deaths in Zahedan have been met with condemnation, with a top Sunni Muslim cleric saying that Shi’ite establishment officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, were responsible “before God.”
Women and students have led the widespread protests across the country, calling for the fall of Iran’s clerical rulers, especially Khamenei. Tehran blames its foreign adversaries, the United States and Israel, for using local agents in the unrest to try and destabilize the country. The protests in recent weeks also marked the biggest show of opposition to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Revolution.
Iran has been sanctioned by several countries over the protests, with Washington issuing a new set of sanctions on Tehran. This time, the sanctions by the US targeted individuals Washington alleges are linked to Hezbollah and the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with other shipping and oil companies.
The Treasury Department said in a statement on its website that the new sanctions also designated front companies and vessels it says are involved in blending oil to cover up Iranian origins of the shipments and exporting it all over the world to support the Quds Force and the Hezbollah.