Two explosions killed at least 103 people and injured 141 in a city in southern Iran today during a massive commemoration of the anniversary of the assassination of general Qasem Soleimani in 2020 by USA.
An official Iranian said the explosions were a “terrorist attack“but without speculating about who could have committed it, amid high regional tensions due to Israel’s offensive against the Islamist group Hamas in the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip.
Iran: causes of explosions unknown
As revealed by the local press, a large explosion shook a mosque in the city of Kerman where he is buried Soleimani, shortly after another less intense explosion.
The station had shown images of thousands of people gathering at the site for the fourth anniversary of the assassination of the general, head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who died in a US drone attack in Iraq in January 2020.
The attack occurred in the midst of very serious tensions in the Middle East due to Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and a day after the murder of the number two of the Palestinian Islamist group in a presumably Israeli attack in the south of Beirut, capital of Lebanon. .
However, the causes of the explosions are still unknown. Kermanlocated 820 kilometers southeast of Tehran, the capital.
The possible reasons for the attack on Iran
The vice governor of the city, Rahman Jalalisaid the explosions were a “terrorist attack“, but he did not accuse anyone in particular.
Iran has multiple enemies that could be behind the attack, including exile groups and armed separatist organizations.
Additionally, Iran has supported Hamas, as well as the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
It is not the first time that Soleimani’s death has caused a tragedy. At his funeral in 2020, a stampede broke out, leaving 56 dead and more than 200 injured as thousands of people thronged the procession.
Who was Qasem Soleimani, the general assassinated by the United States
Qasem Soleimani was the architect of the regional military activities of Iran and is hailed as a national hero among supporters of the Iranian theocracy.
However, the United States accused him of having aided and armed Iraqi militias that killed or maimed dozens of American soldiers during the US invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war (2003-2011).
Source: Ambito
