Near grave of killed general
State media: At least 103 dead in explosions in Iran
January 3, 2024, 8:10 p.m
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An explosion in the Iranian city of Kerman kills dozens of people. State media also reported that dozens were injured. The incident occurred near the grave of General Soleimani, whose death marks the fourth anniversary today.
On the anniversary of the death of the powerful Iranian general Ghassem Soleimani, there were two explosions in his hometown of Kerman near his grave, killing dozens. Iranian state media speak of 103 deaths. The official Irna news agency reported that numerous injured people had died, so that the death toll had risen. There were also 140 injuries. Kerman’s deputy governor spoke of a terrorist attack, as state broadcaster Irib reported.
Iran’s President Ebrahaim Raisi condemned the terrorist attack. According to a government statement, he instructed the authorities to alleviate the suffering of the victims and injured. At the same time, he called for a decisive response. “There is no doubt that the perpetrators and those who gave orders for this cowardly act will soon be identified and (…) punished for their heinous act,” the head of government was quoted as saying. The country’s political leadership declared tomorrow, Thursday, “a day of public mourning throughout the country.”
The background to the explosions is still unclear. Initially, no group claimed responsibility for the alleged attack. Terror attacks of this magnitude are extremely rare in Iran. The USA denied any responsibility. “The United States was in no way involved, and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He added that his government also had “no reason to believe” that Israel was involved in the incident.
Reporters from the state news agency Irna reported a “horrifying sound of an explosion.” According to the parastatal news agency Nournews, “several gas canisters exploded on the road to the cemetery.” Kerman’s deputy governor spoke of a terrorist attack, as state broadcaster Irib reported. State television showed Red Crescent rescue workers tending to injured people at the ceremony where hundreds of Iranians had gathered to mark the anniversary of Soleimani’s death. Images from the attack sites showed blood-soaked sidewalks, damaged vehicles and torn clothing.
Hezbollah chief’s speech expected
Kerman in central Iran is the home of Ghassem Soleimani, the former commander of the foreign units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The USA killed him in a drone strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020. This led to a dramatic escalation of tensions in the region and a retaliatory strike by Iranian forces on a US base in Iraq. Soleimani is revered as a martyr by government supporters loyal to the system. Propaganda images of the general are also emblazoned on the walls of houses in the capital Tehran. Kerman is located in the Iranian province of the same name, surrounded by vast desert areas.
On Wednesday too, crowds of people made a pilgrimage through the streets of the provincial capital to Soleimani’s grave site. The explosions are said to have occurred just a few hundred meters away. In a segment broadcast live on state television, bangs and screams could be heard. The videos showed how panic broke out and people fled the scene of the explosions.
More than a year ago, the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for an attack on a Shiite shrine in the cultural metropolis of Shiraz. The attack in October 2022 killed more than a dozen people.
On the occasion of the anniversary of Soleimani’s death, the Secretary General of the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, wants to give a speech in the evening. Against the background of the killing of a leader of the Islamist Hamas in Lebanon the day before, the speech is eagerly awaited. There are concerns that the violent death of Saleh al-Aruri, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, could lead to a further escalation of the conflict with Israel. Hamas-allied Hezbollah, considered the Islamic Republic’s most important non-state ally, had vowed to retaliate.