Published January 4, 2024
Update(1405ET): The death toll in Kerman city has risen to at least 103 killed, and over 141 injured, with new details being revealed in state-backed IRNA news as follows: “The first blast took place 700 meters away from Martyr General Qassem Soleimani’s tomb and the second explosion happened one kilometer away from it.” Other sources are saying there were well over 170 injuries in the aftermath. “The explosions dispersed mourners from Kerman’s cemetery and ambulances rushed to deliver the injured to hospitals in the city,” the report continues. This was among the single deadliest attacks in all of Iranian history.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi didn’t single out any country of its intelligence services for being behind the attack, but said, “the perpetrators and criminals who were involved in this terrorist crime will soon be identified and punished for their actions.”
However, some top Iranian officials did quickly point the finger at Israel and the US. This prompted a quick rejection of the allegation by the Biden administration, which also sought to distance Israel from the mass casualty event too:
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. had no reason to believe that Israel was involved in the explosion, and added, “the United States was not involved in any way, and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous.”
Ayatollah Ali Ali Khamenei also did not specify any country potentially behind the major attack on the memorial event. “The enemies should know that, with God’s permission, perpetrators of this tragedy will be met with a strong response,” he posted to X.
#Iran #Iranblast #IDF #Mossad #USA #America #Israel #MiddleEast
🇮🇷⚡"Death to America and death to Israel" – Qom right now pic.twitter.com/Tb2rp6fI6R— Kalanjikov🌼 (@KalaHonesto) January 3, 2024
According to an afternoon press briefing by US national security council spokesman John Kirby (via RTRS):
- White House says the US does not have detail on the Iran bombing; US has no indication Israel was involved in the Iran blast
- White House says US will continue to maintain a significant force presence in the middle east; US will not shrink from defending US interests and free flow of international commerce
- Actions in the Red Sea directly threaten freedom of navigation.
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SOURCE: www.zerohedge.com
RELATED: State Department says neither US nor Israel behind Iran blasts that killed over 80
Iranian leaders vow revenge for explosions near grave of IRGC’s Soleimani, don’t blame Israel, though some lower-level officials do; US official says it seems like ISIS responsible
Screen capture a video released by state-run Iran Press news agency on January 3, 2024 shows ambulances leaving the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman. (IRAN PRESS / AFP)
Published Published January 4, 2024
WASHINGTON, United States — The United States on Wednesday rejected any suggestion that it or its ally Israel was behind deadly blasts in Iran and warned against further escalation after a suspected Israeli attack on a Hamas leader in Lebanon.
At least 84 people died in southern Iran at the grave of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qassem Soleimani, as mourners gathered exactly four years after he was killed in a US drone strike.
Iran’s leaders vowed revenge for the attack, though without openly accusing Israel. However, Iran’s deputy parliament speaker claimed it had the signs of an Israeli assault because it didn’t involve suicide bombers.
“The United States was not involved in any way, and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said of Wednesday’s violence.
“We have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion,” he also said, expressing his condolences to the victims.
A senior administration official later briefing reporters said the attack was similar to previous ones carried out by ISIS. “That’s the going assumption at the moment.”
People disperse near the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qassem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, 2024. ( MEHR NEWS / AFP)
The blast on the anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination came one day after a suspected Israeli attack killed the deputy leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut that are a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Iran blames Israel, US for deadly blasts near grave of Guards general Soleimani
Iran blamed Israel and the United States on Wednesday for twin bomb blasts that killed at least 84 people in the country’s south, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qassem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike.
Published January 4, 2024
The two explosions – labelled a “terrorist attack” by state media and regional authorities – came amid high Middle East tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the killing of a Hamas senior leader in Lebanon on Tuesday.
The unclaimed attacks, which sparked fears of a widening conflict in the region, rattled global markets, where oil prices jumped more than three percent and sparked global condemnation.
“Washington says USA and Israel had no role in terrorist attack in Kerman, Iran. Really? A fox smells its own lair first,” the Iranian president’s political deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Make no mistake. The responsibility for this crime lies with the US and Zionist regimes (Israel) and terrorism is just a tool,” he added.
The United States had earlier rejected any suggestions that it or ally Israel were involved while Israel declined to comment.
“The United States was not involved in any way … We have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Asked about the blasts, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “We are focused on the combat with Hamas”.
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SOURCE: www.france24.com
