“An attack on Iranian territory could lead to an escalation of war throughout the Middle East.”
Iran’s supreme leader calls for tough action against perpetrators
A bomb exploded at the 4th anniversary memorial service for Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Qasem Soleimani, killing more than 100 people, and it is possible that the Islamic State (IS), a Sunni extremist militant group designated as a terrorist group by the United States, may have carried out the attack. A senior U.S. official announced on the 3rd (local time).
According to the American political media The Hill, an anonymous senior U.S. official said on this day, “It appears to be a terrorist attack,” and “It is similar to the type of (terrorism) that IS has committed in the past.”
However, this senior official did not provide specific evidence that IS carried out this terrorist attack.
John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), said at a regular White House briefing on the 3rd, “There is no specific information about how the explosion occurred and who is responsible.”
Earlier on this day, two explosions occurred in the city of Kerman, about 820 km southeast of the capital Tehran, killing at least 103 people and injuring 171.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei condemned the terrorism and called for strong action against the perpetrators.
The Iranian government condemned this attack but did not name the mastermind.
Iran has been fighting the anti-Iranian and anti-Shiite IS group for years. Although IS suffered heavy losses in the repelling battle between the United States and the Allied Forces, it still maintains so-called ‘sleeper cells’ in the Middle East.
Although tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran are rising due to the war in the Gaza Strip, a direct attack on Iranian territory is unprecedented and could lead to an escalation of war throughout the Middle East.
Previously, on the 25th of last month, Brigadier General Seyyed Raj Mousavi, a senior IRGC commander, was killed in an Israeli airstrike, but the airstrike at that time was carried out in Syria, not Iran.
Meanwhile, Commander Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike while leaving Baghdad Airport, Iraq, on January 3, 2020.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.