After the devastating explosions in Iran with around 100 deaths, the focus is now on finding the background and those responsible for the attack. The Iranian government spoke of a terrorist attack. The federal government and the European External Action Service also condemned the attack as an act of terrorism. Initially, however, no group claimed responsibility for the crime. The US government denied claims of involvement in the attack. There is also no reason to believe that Israel was involved in the explosions.
It was the attack with the most victims in the 45-year history of the Islamic Republic. On the anniversary of the death of the powerful Iranian general Ghassem Soleimani, around 100 people were killed and more than 200 injured in two explosions in his hometown of Kerman on Wednesday. The condition of around 30 injured people was still critical that night and there was great concern that the number of victims could rise even further. Meanwhile, Iran’s government declared nationwide national mourning.
The investigation is ongoing
Iran’s leadership strongly condemned the attack. Religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi announced a decisive reaction. “With God’s permission, the hand of divine vengeance will appear at the right time and place,” Raisi wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi published findings from the initial investigation after visiting the attack sites. Among other things, the remains of the two explosive devices that were detonated just a few minutes apart were examined.
Kerman is the home of Soleimani, the former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s foreign units. The USA killed him in a drone strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020. He is revered as a martyr by government supporters loyal to the system. The explosions occurred as crowds marched through the streets of the provincial capital to Soleimani’s gravesite.
US government: “Not involved in any way”
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington that the United States had no involvement in the explosions. Given the tense situation in the Middle East, there are growing concerns about an expansion of the Gaza war, into which Iran and the USA could also be drawn.
Miller said there was also no reason to believe Israel was involved in the explosions. “It’s too early, at least for us, to say what the cause might be,” Miller said.
