Al-Monitor | Fazel Hawramy: Mizan, the Iranian judiciary’s news agency, announced May 14 the execution sentences for eight alleged accomplices of the Islamic State (IS) militants who carried out deadly attacks in Tehran last summer, killing 18 and wounding at least 40 others. Another 18 defendants charged with less serious offences will reportedly be tried in the coming months. The June 7, 2017, attacks were carried out by five Iranian Kurds who targeted parliament in downtown Tehran and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, on the outskirts of the capital.


Those sentenced to execution are charged with an array of offenses, including providing logistical support to the attackers in the form of weapons, forged documents and explosives. All eight were found guilty of taking up arms against the Islamic Republic and sowing corruption on earth, which carry a death sentence under the Iranian Penal Code. The sentences can reportedly be appealed at the Supreme Court of Iran.

The transcripts of seven sessions of the hearings at Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court offer a rare insight into the way IS uses local knowledge to maximize its efficiency and impact. More importantly, the court transcripts make clear the shortcomings that left Iranian security services unable to stop the attacks. These missteps include failure to properly heed clear warnings from IS and to confront the existence of a large number of IS sympathizers and members in the Kurdish areas in western Iran.

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