In the early morning of January 3, 2020, under the orders of former U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.S. military airstrike near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, killing Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps "Quds Force".
Four years later, at least 95 people were killed and 221 injured in two bombings near the site of the ceremony commemorating the fourth anniversary of the attack on Soleimani. It is believed to be the deadliest attack by Iran since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
The attack took place in the city of Kerman, the capital of Iran's Kerman province, which is home to the Soleimani cemetery. Iran said the bombing was a "terrorist attack" and would launch a "stern response" to it. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
At a time when the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict is intensifying, some analysts believe that the Iranian attack will further lead to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East and may even trigger a regional war.
Two explosions about 20 minutes apart
The first explosion occurred at about 3 p.m. local time on Jan. 3 at about 700 meters from the Martyrs' Garden cemetery next to the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque on the eastern outskirts of the city of Kerman, Iranian state television reported. About 20 minutes later, a second explosion sounded about 1 km from the cemetery.
Iran's interior minister, Vasidi, told state television that the second explosion was the one that resulted in the most casualties. According to the analysis, the delayed second explosion was generally carried out by extremists in order to cause more casualties against people fleeing the first explosion.
On January 3, 2024 local time, two explosions occurred in Kerman City, Iran. Photo/IC photo
The governor of Kerman province told Iran's state news agency IRNA that both explosions occurred outside security checkpoints and that they were convinced that the explosions were caused by bombs, but it is unclear whether the bombs were detonated remotely or in a suicide attack. Earlier, another Iranian media outlet quoted a source as saying that the bomb was "detonated by remote control."
On the evening of January 3, Iranian Health Minister Enolahi announced on Iranian state television that the death toll from the two explosions in the city of Kerman that day was 95, not the 103 previously announced, after errors were caused by double counts. According to the news agency, 211 people were injured as a result of the explosion.
Regarding the explosion, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Ali Khamenei said on the same day that the "evil enemy" of the Iranian nation had once again created a catastrophe and killed a large number of Kerman civilians, but the enemy would face a "harsh response".
Iranian President Raisi canceled his planned visit to Turkey on the 4th. On the day of the bombing, he denounced it as a "heinous and inhumane crime" and that the perpetrators would pay a heavy price. According to reports, the Iranian government will hold a national mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack in the city of Kerman on January 4.
Russia, Turkey, the European Union and other countries and organizations also condemned the explosion. UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack while expressing deep condolences to the families of the victims and the Iranian people.
The United States has denied that the attack was related to the United States and Israel
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But some Iranian officials blame Israel and the United States for the incident.
According to The Guardian, the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, Moitaba Zornuri, accused Israel of being involved in the attack. "The non-suicidal nature of the Kerman terrorist attack suggests that it was an act of the Zionist regime (Israel)." He also said that revenge would be taken against the Zionist regime.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on the 3rd, "The United States is not involved in any way, and any hint to the contrary is absurd." He added, "There is no reason to believe that Israel was involved in the bombing." ”
Subsequently, Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy director of the Office of the President of Iran for political affairs, said: "Washington says that the United States and Israel have nothing to do with the terrorist attack in the Iranian city of Kerman. Is this true?" he said, "without a doubt. Responsibility for this crime lies with the United States and the Zionist regime, and terrorism is only a tool. ”
In fact, some U.S. officials believe that the attack was linked to the Islamic State (IS). A senior Biden administration official said on the 3rd that the attack was similar to previous attacks carried out by IS, "which is a hypothetical at the moment."
According to the BBC, some suspect that the attack was carried out by Arab separatist groups or Sunni extremist groups such as the Islamic State. These groups have carried out numerous attacks against civilians and security forces in Iran in recent years.
In September last year, Iran's Fars news agency reported that a "key figure" affiliated with IS in charge of carrying out terrorist operations in Iran had been arrested in Kerman.
Prior to that, in 2022, IS claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Shiite holy site in Iran that killed 15 people. In 2017, five IS terrorists attacked the building of Iran's parliament and the mausoleum of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing 17 people and injuring 43.
Rob McKayle, the former British ambassador to Iran, told the BBC that it was unclear who was behind the bombing. He said there are opposition groups that have the capacity to carry out such violent attacks that cannot threaten the Iranian regime but "will inevitably escalate the situation."
There is a risk of regional war in the Middle East
Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force, the overseas operating branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and is regarded as one of the most influential figures in Iran outside of the Supreme Leader.
According to CCTV News, Soleimani has played an important role in the anti-US armed movements in Iraq and Syria and the surrounding conflicts, so he has always been a thorn in the side of the United States and Israel. On January 3, 2020, Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike, which led to sudden tensions between the United States and Iran, and the two countries were on the verge of full-scale conflict.
On January 3, 2024 local time, in Tehran, Iran, on the fourth anniversary of the attack on Soleimani, a senior general of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, people held a photo of Soleimani. Photo/IC photo
The deadly terrorist attack in Iran comes at a time when the situation in the Middle East is heating up. Just a day earlier, a Hamas leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon.
Hamas and the Lebanese government said on January 2 that Saleh Aruri, deputy chairman of Hamas's Politburo, was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut on the same day, Xinhua news agency reported. He was the highest-ranking Hamas official to have died at the hands of the Israeli army after the outbreak of the new Palestinian-Israeli conflict, along with two other Hamas military commanders and three others killed in airstrikes.
Lebanese Prime Minister Naguib Mikati condemned the Israeli army for "committing new crimes" and called on the international community to "put an end to Israeli aggression". Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh issued a statement saying that the Israeli army's operation would only make Hamas "stronger and more determined."
Hamas sources said Hamas had notified conflict mediators such as Qatar and Egypt to freeze "any negotiations" with Israel. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing Arab diplomats as sources, reported that Aruri's death "changed the situation" and that peace talks "are not likely to make progress now."
At the same time, the conflict between the Iranian-backed Allah party in Lebanon and Israel is intensifying. On the evening of 3 January, Israeli forces launched an airstrike on the town of Naqoura in southern Lebanon, killing a Lebanese Allah official and three members of his entourage. Allah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on 3 January against waging war against Lebanon.
Since the outbreak of a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7 last year, relations between Iran and Israel have become further strained. Hamas has been supported by Iran since before the outbreak of the conflict, and Iran has repeatedly expressed its support for Hamas since the outbreak of the conflict. Earlier, Ismail Kani, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, said that he would support Hamas at all costs in the conflict with Israel.
When an Israeli airstrike on Syria on December 25 last year killed Sayyid Razi Mousavi, a senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran said at the time that Israel "will" pay for its actions. In addition, Iranian-backed Yemen's Houthi rebels repeatedly attacked ships "linked to Israel" in the Red Sea late last year, leading to the suspension of Red Sea navigation by many countries, and tensions in the Red Sea have also been plunged.
The Guardian commented that whoever is behind the terrorist attack against Iran is risking igniting a regional war.
Beijing News reporter Xie Lian
Edited by Zhang Lei and proofread by Chen Diyan