Several Iranian state news agencies reported on Wednesday that between 20 and 73 people were killed at a memorial parade near the grave of late terrorist Qassem Soleimani in southern Kerman. Investigators initially described the explosion as a “double” explosion that was controlled remotely.
Tasnim news agency under IRGC report On Wednesday, two explosions 13 minutes apart rocked the event “as people crowded the road leading to the cemetery where Soleimani's grave is located.” Terrorists often use multiple explosions to target both the initial victim and the first responders dispatched to rescue the injured.
“The attackers detonated two suitcases loaded with explosives using a remote control, sources told Tasnim in Kerman,” the newspaper said, claiming the explosions were terrorism.
Earlier reports suggested the possibility of an accidental explosion of a gas cylinder, but local authorities later began openly declaring that the explosion was intentional.
Infographic shows where the explosion in Qassem Soleimani's tomb occurred. (Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Tasnim news agency reported that those injured in the explosion were injured in the explosion as well as “injuries caused by mass assaults in a panic.”
Tasnim said the death toll was “in the dozens.”Opposition news outlet Iran International cites other state-run news outlets Estimation The blast killed 20 people and injured at least 15 more.
Israeli news agency i24 report The incident left “at least 50 people” dead.
Iranian emergency services official Babak Yektaparast reportedly appeared on state television late Wednesday, saying that the regime Confirmed 73 people were killed and another 170 injured.
Footage of the incident showed the Iranian regime mobilized thousands of Crowds of people flocked to the city and marched to the cemetery in an attempt to restore Soleimani's image during his lifetime as a mass murderer to that of a patriot.
Until January 3, 2020, Soleimani served as the commander of the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s external terrorism force, when former President Donald Trump announced that he and Iran's top leadership Authorized air strikes to eliminate Iraq. Rear Militia, Hezbollah Brigades, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis. The Revolutionary Guards is an official branch of Iran's armed forces and a US-designated terrorist organization.
The Quds Force is helping Iran expand its jihadist influence into neighboring countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as allies such as Venezuela and Cuba.
General Soleimani was thought to be in charge of relations between Iran and groups such as the Hezbollah Brigades, but he was also an important shadow diplomat in contact with the socialist government of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and, at times, with Iran. clashed with regular diplomats. He was also considered essential to Iran's involvement in the Syrian civil war, replacing dictator President Bashar al-Assad, who ultimately won the war with support from Iran and Russia.
“His death is a great loss for the Iranian regime and its Iraqi proxies, and a great operational and moral victory for the United States,” said Lt. Col. James Carafano, deputy director of the Davis National Security Institute at the Heritage Foundation. (retired) said. And regarding foreign policy, Soleimani said in 2020:
A scene from the scene after an explosion near the tomb of slain General Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, Iran, on January 3, 2024, killing at least 73 people. (Photo credit: Stringer/Anadolu, Getty Images)
A scene from the scene after an explosion near the tomb of slain General Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, Iran, on January 3, 2024, killing at least 73 people. (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Soleimani was the most ruthless butcher in the Iranian regime, a monster who killed and injured thousands of American service members in Iraq,” President Donald Trump said in his 2020 State of the Union address. “As the world's top terrorist, Soleimani orchestrated the deaths of countless men, women, and children. He directed the attack on U.S. troops in Iraq in December and was actively planning new attacks. ”
The Iranian regime ultimately replaced President Soleimani and Esmail Qaani, a more obscure terrorist who played a key role in Iran's involvement in Syria.
The Iranian regime insists that Soleimani was a “freedom fighter” and a kind-hearted poet, and requires its citizens to attend a mass memorial event in his name every year. The event in Kerman, where he is buried, was reportedly a parade in his honor.
The Iranian government organizes a similar event every January 3 to denounce the United States for eliminating the terrorist threat, and hopes it will bring “justice” to Trump and his top officials for the drone strikes on Soleimani and al-Muhandis. It has been argued that it will bring about
In December, a Tehran court found that Mr. Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the separate CIA and Pentagon organizations, and other Americans were responsible for Mr. Soleimani's death, awarding compensation to the Iranian regime. ordered to pay nearly $50 billion. Iranian courts have similarly denied Soleimani responsibility for the thousands of casualties caused by his terrorist activities.
In response to the airstrikes in Iraq, the country's Iran-backed militias organized similar parades to protest the United States and praise Soleimani and al-Muhandis.
The Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), a separate organization from the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are a coalition of predominantly Shiite, Iranian-backed militias that became a formal part of the Iraqi army during the Iraq War. A war to eliminate the Sunni Islamic State's “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
The PMF cooperated with Kurdish and U.S. forces during the struggle and received praise from the Pentagon.
At the time of writing, there are no reports suggesting any individual or organization may be responsible for the explosion in Kerman.
