As the attack on Iranian parliament unfolded on June 7, many wondered how could the gunmen so easily enter such an important building.
Although an official statement has not been made by Iranian law enforcement about the details of the event, it appears that the attackers targeted an entrance, which was easily accessible from street, called the northern entrance.
While other official buildings are usually separated from the street by a fence and a courtyard, the administrative building of the parliament housing offices, is right near the sidewalk and its entrance resembles an office building accessible directly from the street.
Therefore, the gunmen did not need to cross two protected gates. All they needed to do was force their way through one entrance.
General view of the main entrance of Iranian Parliament's administrative building in Mojahedin Eslam Ave.
Radio Farda spoke with Ehsan Mehrabi, who was a parliamentary reporter in Iran and is well familiar with the parliament complex and its points of entrance. He says that the gunmen, approaching from the street opened fire at the entrance of the administrative building and as they managed to enter, there were basically inside.
However, they could not manage to reach the main assembly hall because they needed to cross a long hallway which has several electronic secure doors at various points.
These doors are controlled by fingerprint readers or electronic chip cards. Probably as the gunfire rang out, these doors were further secured and the gunmen instead spread throughout the administrative building’s upper floors, taking hostages. Reports say that a number of hostages were killed.
An social media photo of a gunman peering out of a window in parliament's administrative building, June 7, 2017
A woman is evacuated during the attack on the Iranian parliament in central Tehran, June 7, 2017