The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In a statement issued Thursday by official ISIS channels, the group said two of its members, Omar al-Muwahid and Saifallah al-Mujahid, “set off towards a large gathering of polytheist Shiites near the grave of their dead leader ‘Qassem Soleimani’ in the city of Kerman, south of Iran, yesterday, where they detonated their explosive belts in the middle of the crowd, killing more than 300 polytheist Shiites, and all praise and gratitude be to God.”
“Let the polytheist Shiites know that the mujahideen are waiting for them and their projects, God almighty willing,” the statement added.
The death toll provided by Iranian emergency services as of Thursday was 84, lower than initial estimates exceeding 100, with hundreds more reportedly wounded. The attack occurred on the fourth anniversary of the U.S. killing of Soleimani, the revered commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, and appeared to target a procession of those mourning him near his burial site in Kerman.
Iranian officials did not identify any specific perpetrators in their initial condemnations of the attack and vows for revenge but did tie them to attempts by “Zionists” to stir up unrest in the Islamic Republic amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza.
Newsweek has reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations for comment.
This is a developing news story. More information will be added as it becomes available.
SARE TAJALLI/Iranian Students’ New Agency/AFP/Getty Images
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.