Nearly 100 people were killed and several others were injured after two explosions occurred at a ceremony to commemorate commander Qassem Soleimani in Iran on Wednesday, as reported by news agency Reuters. Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone in 2020, Iranian officials said, blaming unspecified "terrorists". Following the blasts, Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, vowed revenge for the bloody twin bombings.
"Cruel criminals... must know that they will be strongly dealt with from now on, and... undoubtedly there will be a harsh response," Khamenei said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters, citing state media. Iranian Health Minister Bahram Eynollahi told state TV the death toll was 95, down from 103, and said 211 others were injured, making it the deadliest attack in the history of Iran, as reported by Reuters.
A first and then a second blast took place after 20 minutes during the fourth-anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state television. No one claimed responsibility for the blasts.
A senior official of the United States government said in Washington that the blasts appeared to represent "a terrorist attack" of the type carried out in the past by Islamic State militants, Reuters reported.
The "heinous and inhumane crime" was condemned by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
The attacks were also condemned by several countries, including Russia and Turkey. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for those responsible to be held accountable.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that the U.S. has seen no indication Israel was behind the blasts. "Two explosive devices planted along the road leading to Kerman's Martyrs' Cemetery were detonated remotely by terrorists," state news agency IRNA quoted an unnamed official as saying.