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Iran said two “terrorist attacks” killed more than 70 people near a commander’s grave on Wednesday, according to reports by state media.
Two explosions in the southern city of Kerman hit crowds gathering to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Qassem Soleimani, a former Revolutionary Guards commander.
Iranian officials quoted by state television said the blasts killed 73 people and injured 171.
State media and local officials labelled the explosions a terrorist attack but Iran has not yet blamed a specific group or foreign country.
Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, said two explosive-laden bags were put at the entrance of the cemetery in Kerman and that the perpetrators allegedly detonated the bombs remotely.
The explosions came a day after Israel carried out the assassination of a senior Hamas leader in southern Lebanon.
While Iran strongly supports Lebanon’s Hezbollah and views Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel as legitimate defense, it aims to avoid being drawn into a broader regional conflict. Following the recent killing of a senior Revolutionary Guards commander in Syria, which has been blamed on Israel, Iranian officials stated they reserved the right to respond without explicitly committing to escalation.
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