A Tajik national has been identified as the primary suspect behind the August 13 armed attack on the Shah Cheragh Shrine in the southwestern Iranian city of Shiraz, Fars province Chief Justice Kazem Musavi said on August 14.

The assault by at least two gunmen within the revered shrine, a significant pilgrimage site for Iranian Muslims, resulted in one fatality and at least eight people injured, IRNA reported.

Musavi, as quoted by Fars, stated that eight individuals have been detained in connection with the attack that officials claim was conducted by Islamic State (IS).

All the suspects are foreign nationals, the official said.

"The head terrorist identified himself as Rahmatullah Nuruzov, a Tajik national," Musavi said.

Iranian security forces, meanwhile, have reportedly located the safe house used by the terrorists.

The attack is the second targeting the holy shrine in less than a year. Last October, a heavily-armed terrorist assaulted Shah Cheragh just before evening prayers, killing 13 pilgrims and injuring at least 40 others. IS claimed responsibility for that attack.

Earlier reports from Tasnim said that in the August 13 attack, two militants attempted to enter the shrine, with one apprehended.

Press TV, Iran’s state-run English news site, reported that the attacker was called S. Aslam Yar and was a Tajik from the Afghan province of Badakhshan.

The chief justice had previously announced the arrest of 10 individuals linked to the incident.

Fada Hussein Maleki, a member of parliament and the National Security Commission, commented on the legislature’s actions in response to the attack, saying: "This event is not an ordinary terrorist act. Targeting Shah Cheragh twice in a year indicates that this terrorist movement is targeting the religious and belief centres of the people."

Maleki said: "Last night, you also saw the people's very strong reaction. They assisted the security and rescue forces and did not allow the terrorist to pass through the second part [of the shrine], preventing a greater tragedy like the tragedy seen the previous time."

He added: "It is too early to blame a particular ethnic group or country. However, amid recent developments in Afghanistan over the past two years, we have witnessed events that were not seen before.”

The official urged Iranians not to turn on the Afghan minority in Iran, believed to include more than 2mn long-term residents.

"The majority of immigrants are not like this,” said Maleki, adding that “if there are elements among them that have the potential to join Da’esh (Islamic State), they should be identified.”

In the November attack on the shrine, Iran claimed an Azerbaijani national was the main person inside Iran who directed and coordinated the attack. The main perpetrator of the attack, a Tajik citizen named Sobhan Komruni operating under the alias Abu Ayesha, is thought to have flown to Tehran directly from Baku before making his way to Shiraz, Tasnim reported.

Officials said he died in a hospital in southern Iran, days after the attack, from injuries sustained during his arrest.