It is a massacre of civilians of shocking proportions that has plagued the countryIranTarget of two explosions while I'm at it Tensions with the USA and Israel in the Middle East conflict reached their peak. At least 103 people died and over 210 were injured on the road to the cemetery in Kerman in the southeast of the countryas they went with thousands of other pilgrims to pay homage to the tomb of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Pasdaran Qods Force and enemy number one of the Jewish state, who was killed exactly four years ago in an American raid on Baghdad airport.
The Iranian authorities speak of a “terrorist” attack – so far no one has claimed responsibility – but refrain from explicitly naming a perpetrator. Attacks like this have bloodied the country over the years and have been claimed by various groups: from IS to the separatists of Balochistan to the Arabs in the south. Instead, Tehran accuses the Israeli secret service Mossad of targeted killings of nuclear scientists and military leaders in Iran and abroad. The most recent case is that of Seyed Razi Mousavi, a Pasdaran general who was shot dead in Syria on December 25th. The double explosion in Kerman also occurred the day after the attack in Beirut that killed Hamas No. 2 Saleh al-Arouri.
But to dismiss any suspicion of Israel's possible involvement in today's massacre, the Americans immediately intervened: “There is no independent information about the events in Iran. It is too early to assess, but we have no reason to believe that Israel is involved,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, also ruling out any US involvement in the incident. The “hateful criminals” behind the twin attacks in Kerman will receive a “tough response” and a “just punishment,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said, broadly blaming those he called “the devilish enemies.” of the Iranian nation”.
President Ebrahim Raisi, who canceled a planned visit to Turkey, said the perpetrators would be “soon identified and punished” and that “the nation's enemies must know that these actions can never break the firm resolve of the Iranian nation.” The Iranian response will be “strong and destructive and in the shortest possible time,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi warned, stressing, however, that investigations to identify the culprits were still underway. The minister said most of the victims died in the second blast while people rushed to help those injured in the first blast.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms”. The EU also condemned this “act of terrorism” “with the utmost firmness” and expressed its “solidarity with the Iranian people”. Russian President Vladimir Putin's reaction was also very harsh, although more obvious given its proximity to Iran, saying that “the killings of civilians while visiting a cemetery are shocking in their cruelty and cynicism.” “We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirm our commitment to uncompromisingly combat this evil,” Putin added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was “deeply saddened by the cruel terrorist attack.”
Meanwhile, the figure of Soleimani was also remembered in Iraq by thousands of people who gathered in the holy Shiite city of Najaf. While a solemn ceremony took place at Baghdad airport in the presence of Prime Minister Muhammad Sudani, who received the families of the ten victims of the American attack: in addition to Soleimani, four other Pasdaran officers and the leaders of the Iraqi militias they supported “Iran. Even the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, paid tribute to the head of the Qods Force killed by the Americans in a speech in Beirut, stating in a speech that “Hamas' successes in the Gaza Strip are due to the work done over the years.” challenged by Qasem Soleimani.
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