- Two bomb explosions near General Qasem Soleimani's tomb in Kerman.
- The explosions targeted a procession near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque.
- The perpetrators remain unclear, and no groups have claimed responsibility.
State broadcaster Irib reported dozens more wounded during the blasts that targeted a procession near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque in Kerman. Kerman's deputy governor referred to it as a "terrorist attack." Videos depicted bodies on a road, with ambulances rushing to the scene.
The perpetrators behind the explosions remain unclear, and no groups have claimed responsibility. While tensions in the region have been heightened following the killing of the deputy leader of Iran-backed Hamas in Lebanon, no direct link between the incidents has been established.
The local TV Footage:
The local TV channel footage showed hundreds of people gathered on the outskirts of Kerman when the explosions occurred.The first blast reportedly took place at 14:50 local time (11:20 GMT), about 700m (2,300ft) from the Garden of Martyrs cemetery around the Saheb al-Zaman mosque, with the second occurring about 15 minutes later, around 1km away from the cemetery. The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, cited sources stating that "two bags carrying bombs" were detonated "by remote control.
"We were walking towards the cemetery when a car suddenly stopped behind us and a waste bin containing a bomb exploded," a witness was quoted to media.
"We only heard the sound of the explosion and saw people falling."
The local emergency services department reported that the blasts had killed 103 people and wounded another 141, with some in critical condition. The Iranian Red Crescent noted that among the dead was at least one paramedic dispatched to the scene of the first explosion who was hit by the second.
Footage suggested that Soleimani's tomb remained undamaged.
In his role as the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' overseas operations arm, the Quds Force, Soleimani served as an architect of Iranian policy across the region. He oversaw the Quds Force's clandestine missions and provided guidance, funding, weapons, intelligence, and logistical support to allied governments and armed groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
The 2020 assassination was ordered by then-US President Donald Trump, who described Soleimani as "the number-one terrorist anywhere in the world."
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