Ninety-five killed in bomb blasts near Iran general Qasem Soleimani’s tomb – state TV

BBC News:

At least 95 people have been killed by two bomb explosions near the tomb of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination by the US, Iran’s state media report.

Scores of others were wounded when the blasts hit a procession near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque in the city of Kerman.

Videos showed bodies on a road and ambulances rushing to the scene.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed the “terrorist attack” would be met with a “harsh response”.

There were no immediate claims from any groups for what is believed to have been the deadliest such attack in Iran in 42 years.

The number of dead had initially been reported as 103, but Iran’s health minister said some names were accidentally registered twice.

Suspicion may fall on Arab separatists and Sunni jihadist groups like Islamic State (IS), who have carried out attacks on civilians and security forces in the country in recent years.

Soleimani was seen as the most powerful figure in Iran after the supreme leader before he was killed in a US drone strike in neighbouring Iraq in 2020.

Wednesday’s attack comes amid heightened tensions in the region after the deputy leader of the Iran-backed Palestinian group, Hamas, was killed in an apparent Israeli drone strike in Lebanon.