Iran: Over 100 killed in twin blasts near grave of Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani

On the eve of the anniversary of the US drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, there were two rapid explosions heard close to his grave.

According to Iranian media, two explosions were heard close to Soleimani’s burial site in the city of Kerman in southern Iran on Wednesday afternoon.

According to reports, at least 103 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the blasts.

Television images showed ambulances pulling up to the scene and wheeling away the injured.

“Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured. But there are waves of crowds blocking roads,” Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent, told state TV.

People were advised to leave the area by the authorities.

There is still no proof of what caused the blasts. Unverified reports that gas cylinder explosions were caused by suicide attacks were interspersed with claims that the explosions had occurred.

Shortly after arriving in Baghdad on January 3, 2020, Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a key figure in the development of Iran’s regional dominance, was struck by a drone strike that was claimed by the United States. Then US President Donald Trump had issued an order to have Soleimani killed claiming that Soleimani was preparing a “imminent” attack on US military personnel in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The blast took place a day after Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas, was killed in a drone strike in Lebanon that authorities claimed was carried out by Israel. Iran has denounced the act, declaring that the murder might “ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and the motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers”.

Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a key adviser for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed last month by an Israeli air attack launched outside the Syrian capital of Damascus.