Iran Blames US and Israel for Explosion Terror Attack: "They Will Pay the Price"

Iran has strongly warned of retaliation over a large-scale explosive terrorist attack that occurred in the central Kerman province.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stated on the 4th, "The evil and criminal enemies of Iran have caused another disaster," emphasizing, "Such disasters will inevitably face a strong response, which is the will of God." The 'enemies' referred to by Iran typically mean the United States and Israel.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also vowed retaliation on the 4th during a memorial ceremony held in Tehran for the 4th anniversary of Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, warning the perpetrators and masterminds behind the terror attack to "remember that they will pay a heavy price."

At around 2:45 p.m. the previous day, two explosions occurred at a memorial ceremony for Commander Soleimani held in Kerman, approximately 820 km southeast of Tehran, the capital of Iran.

Iranian authorities announced that at least 84 people were killed and about 211 injured in the explosions. Initially, the death toll was reported as 103 but was later corrected to 84 after removing duplicate counts. The number of injured is 284.

President Raisi did not directly point to the perpetrators behind the incident but continued to make sharp remarks toward Israel. The crowd gathered at the memorial chanted slogans such as "Death to Israel."

Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's First Vice President, stated, "This incident is in line with the ongoing desperation and failures faced by the Zionist regime (Israel) following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation," suggesting that the explosion was a retaliatory attack by Israel after Hamas's surprise operation.

This terrorist attack targeted the memorial ceremony for Commander Soleimani, who is nationally revered in Iran. Accordingly, analysts believe that the Iranian leadership, considering domestic public opinion, is likely to carry out physical retaliation rather than just verbal warnings.

After Commander Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone strike on January 3, 2020, Iran launched about ten ballistic missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq on January 8, following the funeral, bringing the situation to the brink of war with the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.