Iranians will remember on Friday, January 4, the victims of the attack carried out on Wednesday in southern Iran, which, according to the latest report, killed 90 people. The double explosion claimed by the Islamic State organization occurred in Kerman in the southeast of the country, near the grave of General Ghassem Soleimani, the former architect of Iranian military operations in the Middle East, during his funeral.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on television on Friday that the secret services had arrested “certain people involved in the attack,” without providing further details.
The funeral began around midday in the courtyard of the Emam Ali Mosque, where a crowd gathered in front of dozens of coffins draped in Iranian flags, according to images on state television. Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi and General Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, were present.
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“Mercenaries of Zionist and American politics”
Mr. Raïssi claimed in a speech that the Islamic State (IS) organization, which claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, had been “trained” by Israel, the Islamic Republic's arch-enemy. “Know that the initiative belongs to us, the place and the time [de riposter à l’attentat de Kerman] “We are determined by our strengths,” he warned.
The IS “has disappeared” and “can now only act as mercenaries of Zionist and American politics,” General Salami accused.
Many in attendance waved the Iranian flag, that of the Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shiite movement allied with Tehran, or even portraits of Qassem Soleimani.
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Demonstrations across the country
The death toll rose to 89 after the deaths of five injured people, including women and children, state television said on Friday. According to the same source, at least twelve of the victims were Afghan nationals.
The bodies of the victims from Kerman will be buried at the Martyrs' Cemetery in Kerman after the big Friday prayer, while the others will be transferred to their respective cities of origin. Television also reported that protests would take place across the country following prayers to condemn “the terrorist attack” by ISIS.
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General Soleimani, a key figure in the Islamic Republic and former head of the Quds Force, Iran's external operations arm, is celebrated in his country for his role in defeating ISIS in Iraq and Syria.