How Twin Blasts, Deadliest In 42 Years, Were Carried Out In Iran

At least 100 people have been killed by two bomb blasts near the memorial of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination by the US, according to Iran's state media report. Scores of others were wounded when the blasts hit a procession near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque in the city of Kerman.

Iran Press

Videos show dead bodies, chaos on streets

Video footage depicted casualties on a road, with ambulances hurriedly responding to the scene. Following the incident, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pledged a robust retaliation against the "terrorist attack." As of now, no groups have claimed responsibility for what is deemed the deadliest attack in Iran in 42 years.

Soleimani was seen as the most powerful figure in Iran after the supreme leader before he was killed in a US drone strike in neighbouring Iraq in 2020. Suspicion may fall on Arab separatists and Sunni jihadist groups like Islamic State (IS), who have carried out attacks on civilians and security forces in the country in recent years.

Deadly blast in Iran looks like 'a terrorist attack,' possibly ISIS -senior US official https://t.co/F9l2tSl0lz

¡ª Reuters Iran (@ReutersIran) January 4, 2024

Wednesday's attack comes amid heightened tensions in the region after the deputy leader of the Iran-backed Palestinian group, Hamas, was killed in an apparent Israeli drone strike in Lebanon.

How did the attacks happen?

Video footage aired by Iranian state TV revealed that a large crowd was participating in a procession along a road adorned with banners featuring Qasem Soleimani when the explosions occurred. The sounds of people screaming were followed by scenes of individuals running away in panic after one of the blasts.

Iranian media reported the first bomb was detonated around 15:00 local time (11:30 GMT), about 700m (2,300ft) from the Garden of Martyrs cemetery around the Saheb al-Zaman mosque in the eastern outskirts of Kerman. The second bombing took place about 15 minutes later, around 1km away from the cemetery, targeting people who had fled the first, they said.

"We were walking towards the cemetery when a car suddenly stopped behind us and a waste bin containing a bomb exploded," a witness was quoted by Isna news agency as saying. "We only heard the sound of the explosion and saw people falling."

soleimani-tomb

How authorities reacted

Iran's health minister, Bahram Eynollahi, said as well as the 95 killed, 211 people were wounded by the blasts, with 27 in critical condition. The Iranian Red Crescent said the dead included at least one paramedic who was sent to the scene of the first explosion and was hit by the second.

On Wednesday evening, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a statement expressing his condolences to the families of those killed. "The evil and criminal enemies of the Iranian nation once again created a disaster and martyred a large number of dear people in Kerman," he said.

"Be it those with innocents' blood on their hands or those corrupt minds that led to this atrocity, they will be met with firm crackdown and fair punishment, commencing immediately," he added. "They should know that this disaster will have a harsh response, God willing."

President Ebrahim Raisi called the bombings a "cowardly act" carried out by "Iran-hating criminals and the henchmen of terror and darkness".

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