2024-01-04 11:10:59
Time.news – The toll is 84 dead and 141 injured, some of whom are in critical condition two explosions that shook the ‘Martyrs’ Cemetery’ in Kermanin the center ofIran, where am I the remains of General Qasem Soleimani were buriedthe historic leader of the Revolutionary Guards killed by the Americans near Baghdad airport on January 3, four years ago. Thousands of people had gathered in the Kerman cemetery to commemorate the anniversary and pay homage to the general, reports the Mehr agency. The toll was updated downwards: initially 104 deaths were reported.
The Iranian authorities have spoken of a “terrorist attack”, as the local deputy governor declared on state TV. At first some Iranian media had claimed that it was the explosion of some gas cylinders. According to the mayor of Kerman, Said Shearbaf, the two explosions occurred 10 minutes apart. The Iranian Vice President, Mohammad Mokhberin his condolence message, blamed Israel, saying that “the hands of the Zionist regime” have shed the blood of innocent citizens.
Raisi: “The authors will be punished soon”
The Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi he expressed condemnation for the two attacks and spoke of a “cowardly” and “atrocious” event, assuring that the Iranian security services “will soon identify and punish the perpetrators”.
© ATTA KENARE / AFP
Funeral procession for the killing of Soleimani, Kerman, 7 January 2020
“No doubt, the perpetrators and perpetrators of this cowardly action will soon be identified by the powerful security forces and held accountable for their heinous act. The nation’s enemies must know that such actions cannot weaken the steel will of the Iranian people in defense of his Islamic ideals”, said Raisi, who canceled his trip to Ankara, where he was expected tomorrow by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The government: “Situation under control”
The situation in the city of Kerman is now under control, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said. “The population need not fear,” the minister said, according to the Mehr agency, adding that “the enemies are wrong if they think of undermining the determination of the Iranian nation” with such actions, and that the reaction will be “a harsh response” of the military and security apparatus “in the shortest possible time”. For tomorrow the authorities have declared the National mourning.
The Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns today’s attack on the commemoration ceremony in the city of Kerman, in the Islamic Republic of Iran”, reports a note from the spokeswoman. Guterres, who sent condolences to Iran and the families of those affected, called for those “responsible to be held to account”.
“The EU condemns in the strongest terms today’s bomb attack in the city of Kerman in Iran. The EU expresses its solidarity with the Iranian people. This act of terror resulted in a shocking number of civilian deaths and injuries. Our thoughts now go to the victims and their families. The perpetrators of the crimes must be brought to justice”, says the EU Foreign Policy Spokesperson in a statement.
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