By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TEHRAN/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – More than 100 people have been killed and scores injured by two bombs near the tomb of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination by the United States, Iranian officials said Wednesday.
Iranian state TV said there was “a first and second explosion” during an anniversary event at the cemetery where Soleimani is buried in the southeastern city of Kerman.
The blasts were due to add to tensions in the Middle East after Israel’s new foreign minister warned this week that Tehran was moving towards a Third World War.
Minister Israel Katz referred to recent attacks by Iran-supported militia such as the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah and Tehran’s ongoing nuclear program.
Wednesday‘s bombings raised worries that they may give Tehran a pretext to increase military actions against Israel and its allies, including the United States.
No group has claimed responsibility for the tomb blasts yet, but Arab separatists, Islamic State, and other Sunni jihadist groups said they targeted security forces and Shia shrines in Iran in recent years.
General Soleimani was seen as the most powerful figure in Iran after the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in neighboring Iraq in 2020.
Wednesday’s bombings came shortly after the deputy leader of Hamas was killed in an apparent Israeli drone strike in Lebanon.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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