The toll was revised slightly downwards by the Iranian authorities on Wednesday evening. No one has claimed responsibility for the two explosions.
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Authorities on Wednesday evening announced a new, downwardly revised assessment of the double attack in Kerman in the southeast of the country.
At this time and after checking the names of the victims, 98 people have died, compared to 103 previously reported.
The two bombs exploded within minutes. It is the second explosive device that would have claimed the most lives.
The attack occurred during a rally commemorating the assassination of General Qassim Soleimani, head of the elite Revolutionary Guard unit. He was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020.
As of this writing, the two explosions have not yet been reported.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the attackers would face a “tough response” but did not name possible suspects. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi added: “There is no doubt that the perpetrators and leaders of this cowardly act will soon be identified and punished.”
Iran has many enemies that could be behind this attack, including exile groups, militant organizations and state actors.
Although Israel has carried out attacks in Iran because of its nuclear program, it has carried out targeted assassinations rather than mass casualty attacks. A US State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said US officials had “no reason” to believe Israel was involved in Wednesday's attack in Iran.
Sunni extremist groups, including the Islamic State group, have carried out large-scale attacks in the past, killing civilians in Shiite-majority Iran, but not in the relatively peaceful Kerman region.
Iran has also been the scene of mass protests in recent years, particularly after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022. The country has also been targeted in attacks by exile groups following the unrest surrounding the 1979 Islamic Revolution go back.
Iran itself has armed militant groups over the decades, including Hamas, the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. As Israel wages its devastating war in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 people, Hezbollah and the Houthis have launched attacks against Israel that they say were on behalf of the Palestinians.
The Kerman attack remains the deadliest attack in Iran since the 1979 revolution.