Iran twin blasts: ISIS claims responsibility

TEHRAN: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the twin blasts that shocked Iran on Wednesday. In a statement released yesterday through Telegram, ISIS announced that the blasts were carried out by two of their suicide bombers. Iran had earlier alleged Israel and the US were behind the explosion. However, the US responded that neither it nor Israel was involved in the attack.

Meanwhile, Iran's Home Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced that the number of people killed in the explosion was 84. Although it was earlier said that 103 people had died in the blasts, the minister said that this was an error in the preliminary count. 280 people suffered injuries.

The twin explosions that shocked the country occurred during the commemoration for General Qassem Soleimani, a prominent general slain in a US drone strike in 2020. The blasts took place 13 minutes apart near Soleimani's tomb near the Sahib Al-Zaman mosque in the southern city of Kerman.

The UN, European Union and countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany and Iraq have condemned the attack. India, which expressed shock and deep sorrow, expressed its solidarity with the victims of the tragedy and the Iranian regime.