Parliament, shrine assault claims 12
DAESH CLAIMS IRAN ATTACKS...GUARD VOWS REVENGE Intelligence minister says third attack foiled
TEHRAN, Iran, June 7, (Agencies): The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Wednesday for a stunning pair of attacks on Iran’s parliament and the mausoleum of its modern founder, the first such attack claimed by the Sunni extremist group in the Shiite-ruled nation.
The lethal assaults, which killed at least 12 people and shocked the country, brought Iran’s wars in Iraq and Syria to its capital at a time when emboldened Sunni Arab states — led by Saudi Arabia and backed by US President Donald Trump — harden their position on its Shiite leadership.
The attacks drew condemnations and condolences from the governments of Pakistan and from Iran’s close allies in the Russian and Syrian governments.
The attacks began midmorning when assailants, armed with Kalashnikov rifles and explosives, stormed the parliament building. One of the attackers later blew himself up inside, where a session had been in progress, according to Iran’s state TV.
It was an hours-long siege at the legislature that ended with four attackers dead. In images circulating in Iranian media, gunmen were seen holding rifles near the windows of parliament. Another image, carried in the semi-official Fars news agency, showed a toddler being handed off through a first-floor window to safety outside as an armed man looks on.
The IS group’s Aamaq news agency released a 24-second video purportedly shot inside the parliament building during the siege. The video, circulated online, shows a bloody, lifeless body of a man lying on the ground next to a desk.
A voice on the video praises God and says in Arabic: “Do you think we will leave? We will remain, God willing.” Another voice repeats the same words. The two appeared to be parroting a slogan used by IS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, who was killed in Syria last year.
Siege
As the parliament siege was unfolding, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the shrine of Iran’s revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which is located just outside Tehran. Khomeini, who died in 1989, is a towering figure in Iran who led the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah and became its first supreme leader.
The Intelligence Ministry said security forces had arrested another “terrorist team” planning a third attack, without giving further details.
Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called the attacks a cowardly act and proof that Tehran has made an enemy of militant Islamic groups through its policies and actions in Iraq and Syria.
“Iran is an active and effective pillar in the fight against terrorists and they want to damage it,” he said.
The two attacks, which wounded dozens of people, are likely to deepen enmity and the regional battle for power between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Already, tensions are high following a cut in ties this week between four Arab countries and Qatar over accusations it supports terrorist groups and is aligning itself too closely with Iran.
Both Saudi Arabia and Iran accuse one another of policies that support extremists in the region. Saudi Arabia has long pointed to the absence of IS attacks on Iran as suggestion of Tehran’s culpability. Iran, on the other hand, has pointed to Saudi Arabia’s support for jihad throughout different times in history and its backing of hard-line Sunni rebels groups in Syria.
Lethal
Saudi Arabia has itself been a target of numerous lethal attacks by IS affiliates in the Arabian Peninsula, who see the kingdom’s Western-allied leadership as heretics. The group has also targeted Shiites in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The group’s militants are directly at war with Iranianbacked forces in Syria and Iraq, and view Shiites as apostates.
Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari told Iran’s state TV the apparently male attackers wore women’s attire. The semi-official Tasnim news agency later reported the siege had ended with four of the attackers killed.
Mizan Online, an Iranian state-run news website, said 12 people were killed and 42 wounded in the two attacks. It quoted Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of Iran’s emergency department.
An Associated Press reporter saw several police snipers on the rooftops of buildings around the parliament. Shops in the area were shuttered, and gunfire could be heard. Witnesses said the attackers were shooting from the fourth floor of the parliament building down at people in the streets below.
“I was passing by one of the streets. I thought that children were playing with fireworks, but I realized people are hiding
KUWAIT CITY, June 7: Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim said the closing session for the parliamentary recess will be held on Thursday (June 8), confirming that the decree in this regard was signed Wednesday. In a press statement, Al-Ghanim disclosed there will be a special session on Thursday to complete discussions on budgets of various institutions, the State budget and the State’s financial situation, followed by the closing session.
On the adjournment of Wednesday’s session due to lack of quorum, Al-Ghanim pointed out this happens from time to time. He said they are honored to meet His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, adding that the MPs will attend the breaking of fast session at the Amir’s residence after the closing session.
Earlier on Wednesday, Parliament Observer MP Nayef Al-Mirdas adjourned the regular session due to lack of quorum. Items in the agenda for this session included reports of the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee on the budgets and final accounts of some government agencies such as the Public Authority for Social Security (PASS), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC); as well as the Interior and Defense Committee’s report on the number of persons eligible for naturalization this year, request to speed up the enforcement of Domestic Workers Law, Abdullah Bay and unemployment.
Another item in the agenda is the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee’s report on fees for using public facilities and services, in addition to the report on current oil prices.
Allowances
Meanwhile, MP Mohammed Al-Huwailah praised the approval of two draft laws on Tuesday – amendments to law number 28/2011 on granting allowances and bonuses to the teaching staff in the ministries of Education, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, as well as Private Sector Labor Law number 6/2010.
He pointed out that granting allowances and bonuses to the teaching staff in the Education, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs ministries will ensure job security – the main concern of the educational sector. He believes this step will have a positive impact on the rights of teachers, particularly in raising their income and improving their status.
He said this will also lead to the realization of educational and national objectives to encourage citizens to work in the educational sector, fair treatment of teachers and protection of their rights. He hopes a similar step will be taken in favor of the support staff including psychologists, social workers, librarians and pedagogical technique developers.
On the amendment of the Private Sector Labor Law, the lawmaker affirmed that this is in the interest of citizens employed in the private sector as the revised law allows a worker to go on paid annual leave for 30 days during the first year of service provided he completed six months under the employer. He also highlighted the stipulation stating that the worker is entitled to full end-of-service pay without deducting contributions to the Public Authority for Social Security.
On the other hand, MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei revealed that he and some other lawmakers intend to reject the closing session on Thursday if the Parliament does not discuss their demand to reduce fuel prices and retirees insurance interests. He stressed, “If this legislative round ends without approving these draft laws, the Parliament’s performance will be disappointing because this entails failure to address issues which are important to citizens.”
He accused some of his colleagues of conniving with the government in preventing discussion of the aforementioned draft laws through lack of quorum. He asserted some people want the Parliament to approve the budgets only, not the important bills which are beneficial to citizens.
He said seven MPs have so far agreed to voice their objection to adjournment of the session, calling for postponement of the closing ceremony until next week. He intends to look into the issue in a constitutional manner after the official announcement of the parliamentary recess.
He also threatened to grill HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah if the latter does not deal with important issues such as the Euro fighters jets, fuel, Jaber Hospital, Jaber University, electricity and water within the three-month summer break.