Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi joined mourners in Kerman on Friday, January 5, for the funerals of the 89 people killed in twin blasts claimed by the Islamic State group, state media said.
Suicide bombings struck crowds in the southern city, where many had gathered on Wednesday to commemorate slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general Qasem Soleimani, on the fourth anniversary of his death in a US drone strike. A staunch enemy of the jihadist group, Soleimani headed the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards's foreign operations arm, overseeing military operations across the Middle East.
Friday's funeral took place at the Imam Ali mosque in Kerman, where crowds gathered in front of dozens of coffins wrapped in the Iranian flag, according to state media. The mourners waved the national flag as well as the yellow flag of Tehran's ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah, along with portaits of Soleimani. Iranian authorities called for mass rallies after the funerals and Friday prayers to protest the bombings.
Wednesday's attack killed 89 people, state TV said, raising an earlier toll following the deaths of several of the wounded. The victims include multiple women and children and at least a dozen Afghan nationals, it said.
Iranian investigators had already confirmed that the first blast at least was the work of a "suicide bomber" and believed the trigger for the second was "very probably another suicide bomber," official news agency IRNA had reported earlier, citing an "informed source."
Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told state TV that "some individuals involved in the attack have been arrested," without elaborating.
In a statement published Thursday on Telegram, the Islamic State group said two of its members "activated their explosives vests" at the gathering.
Despite the claim of responsibility by the Islamic State (IS) group, Iranian officials have continued to suggest Israeli and US involvement. IS "has disappeared nowadays," said IRGC chief Hossein Salami during the funeral ceremony, arguing the jihadists "only act as mercenaries" for US and Israeli interests. Salami vowed that Iran "will find you wherever you are," referring to any IS members behind the bombing plot.
The United States rejected any suggestion that it or its ally Israel were behind the bombings, while Tehran's arch foe Israel did not comment.
President Raisi, who arrived in Kerman to attend the funerals, also visited Soleimani's grave, state TV said. And Raisi said revenge for the killings will come at "the time and place will be determined by our forces."
The president in his remarks also hailed Palestinian militant group Hamas for its deadly October 7 attacks on Israel which triggered an unrelenting offensive on the Gaza Strip, ruled by the Tehran-backed movement. "We know that 'Al-Aqsa Flood' operation will bring about the end of the Zionist regime," he said, using Hamas's name for the war, now nearing its fourth month.