TEHRAN — One Iranian cleric has lost his life and two others have been wounded in an unprecedented stabbing attack at the holy shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Press TV reported.

The assailant was arrested immediately after the attack, which took place at the courtyard of the holy shrine of the eighth Shia Imam in Khorasan Razavi Province on Tuesday, the third day of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The injured clerics were transferred to the hospital after being stabbed with a knife.

The intelligence arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the province said in a statement that the identity and nationality of the assailant have been determined.

It added that an investigation is underway to shed light on the incident, cautioning against any speculation before the results are out.

Mashhad’s Prosecutor General Mohammed Hossein Doroudi said four other people besides the attacker have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The assailant, named Abdollatif Moradi, is a 21-year-old Uzbek national who illegally entered Iran through Pakistan. Videos of him is being circulated in the media that shows he was influenced by Takfiri and Wahhabis’ ideology.

The motivation behind this terrorist attack is under investigation. 

Many high-ranking officials condemned the attack, calling for unity among Sunnis and Shias. 

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi said, “Those who were hostile were from the Takfiri movement, and the colonialists and hypocrites must not be allowed to abuse ethnic and religious issues to sow discord between Muslims and the people of our country with neighbors; because sowing discord is one of the old methods of the colonialists.”