Iranian officials and media outlets have condemned and expressed concern over the attack on prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky by the Nigerian military. As the leader of the small Shiite community in Nigeria, Zakzaky has close political and religious ties with Iran dating back to the 1979 revolution.

A Nigerian military statement read that members of Zakzaky’s Islamic movement attacked a military convoy with stones in what it called an assassination attempt. However, activists with the movement claim that the raids were pre-planned and occurred at multiple locations, including Zakzaky’s residence and two spiritual centers. They accused the Nigerian forces of indiscriminate killing. Some activists said that there were hundreds of deaths. Earlier reports put the number of dead at 20.

A picture of a bloodied and wounded Zakzaky was shared widely in the Iranian media, as were pictures of the dead from the raid. Zakzaky is currently in custody at a military hospital. Though there were reports that his wife, son and deputy were killed in the raid, his wife was not killed and is also currently in custody. Three of Zakzaky’s sons were killed in a previous raid in 2014.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Nigerian charge d’affaires in Tehran after the raid. In a telephone conversation Dec. 14 with Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed Iran’s concern and said that he expects calm to be restored and for the lives of Muslims to be protected. Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that while the relations between Iran and Nigeria are positive, Iran holds the government responsible for the event.