Iran organizes day of mourning for the dead at the Suleimani monument
Iran observed a national day of mourning on Thursday to honor the victims of the twin explosions that killed 84 people a day earlier during a memorial ceremony for Major General Qassim Suleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike four years ago.
General Suleimani, the powerful military leader considered a malign force in the West, is revered among many Iranians, especially those who support the government.
Iranian officials had put the death toll for the two blasts, which occurred at the cemetery where General Suleimani is buried in the southern city of Kerman, at 103 on Wednesday. But the Minister of Interior, Ahmad Vahidi, said Thursday that 84 had been killed, according to Tasnim, a semi-official news agency.
During a visit to a hospital treating people injured in the explosions, Mr Vahidi said the death toll could rise again because of the serious condition of some of the injured. A total of 284 people were injured in the attack, including 220 who were still hospitalized in Kerman, many of whom were in stable condition or required minor operations, he said, according to Tasnim.
Iran’s leaders, many of whom initially appeared to directly or indirectly accuse Israel of responsibility for the blasts, continued on Thursday to denounce what they called a terrorist attack and vowed to punish the perpetrators. But so far they had not escalated their rhetoric against Israel.
Some analysts and Western officials said Wednesday that the method of attack suggested a link with Sunni militant or separatist groups rather than Israel, which tends to target specific and limited Iranian targets, such as nuclear scientists or security figures, or places such as nuclear weapons. locations, rather than crowds of citizens.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said on social media platform X Thursday morning that the government had “initiated immediate legal and international actions through the United Nations regarding the terrorist attack in Kerman.”
It was unclear what such actions might be, but Iranian state news media published it the text of a letter that Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations sent to the Security Council and the Secretary General on Wednesday asking them to condemn the attack.
“Extensive investigations are underway to identify and arrest the perpetrators and organizers behind this premeditated and heinous crime,” wrote the envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to use all available mechanisms to ensure accountability for those responsible and their accomplices in this heinous terrorist act.”
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres condemned the attack, as did the European Union and countries including Iraq, Qatar and Venezuela.
Tasnim, the news agency, reported that the first explosion occurred at 3:04 pm on Wednesday as people crowded the road leading to General Suleimani’s grave. The second blast came 13 minutes later, the report said.
Another semi-official news agency, IRNA, quoted a police spokesman as saying that three police officers had been killed in the explosions while trying to help other victims.
The commemoration ceremony was held to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of General Suleimani during a US drone strike at Baghdad airport in January 2020. Similar ceremonies are held annually in honor of the general.