Twin blasts kill dozens near slain Iran commander’s grave

By Mostafa Salem, Abbas Al Lawati and Rob Picheta, Tara John and Hande Atay Alam, CNN

Dozens of people were killed Wednesday in the Iranian city of Kerman after twin blasts near the burial site of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani, in what officials called a terror attack.

The blasts, at least one of which was caused by a bomb, state TV said, came on the fourth anniversary of Soleimani’s death in a US airstrike, and threaten to accelerate tensions in the region that have spiked since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

At least 84 people were killed and 284 others injured, according to state-run news agency IRNA, citing Jafar Miadfar, head’s of Iran’s national emergency agency. The toll was revised down due to the miscounting of body parts.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts, the deadliest to hit Iran since the 1979 revolution.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi blamed Israel for the explosions, saying it will pay a “heavy price.”

“I warn the Zionist regime, do not doubt that you will pay a heavy price for this crime and the crimes you have committed,” Raisi said in a televised speech from Tehran. Raisi, who is the head of the Iranian government, warned that Israel’s punishment will be “regrettable and severe.”

The Israeli military told CNN it had “no comment” on the matter while the US State Department said it had no reason to believe Israel was involved.

Analysts and a US official speculated that the blast had the hallmarks of a terrorist attack.

“I think it’s just based on the MO it does look like a terrorist attack, the type of thing we’ve seen ISIS do in the past. And as far as we’re aware, that’s kind of I think our going assumption at the moment,” the official said.

Iran has suffered major Islamist terror attacks before. In 2022, at least 15 people were killed and 40 others injured in the southern city of Shiraz. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack swiftly afterwards, saying it targeted groups of “Sunni infidels.”

The first explosion was 2,300 feet (700 meters) from Soleimani’s grave, and the second was 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) away as pilgrims visited the site, IRNA reported.

Soleimani was killed by a US airstrike ordered by former President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

IRINN, another state television channel, reported that the first explosion near the grave of Soleimani was caused by a bomb placed in a suitcase inside a Peugeot 405 car, and appeared to be detonated remotely.

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the first explosion happened at 3:00 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) during an interview with Iran’s state news channel IRIB. Vahidi said the second, more deadly blast took place 20 minutes later, when other pilgrims came to help the injured.

Videos posted on Iranian state media showed large crowds running in the area after the explosion.

Footage also showed bloodied bodies being transported from the scene, and ambulances leaving the site through large crowds.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Iran will have a “harsh response.” Addressing those behind the explosions, he wrote: “They should know that the bright soldiers of the path of Soleimani will not tolerate their wickedness and crimes.”

Iran declared Thursday a day of mourning following the blasts and Raisi canceled his upcoming trip to Turkey. Please click here for the full report.