At least 103 people were killed and 211 wounded when two bombs exploded in Iran on Wednesday afternoon. The bombings targeted a procession in Kerman marking the fourth anniversary of the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq. Iranian emergency services arrive at the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, 2024. (Photo by -/MEHR NEWS/AFP via Getty Images)
Hundreds of Iranians gathered near Kerman Martyrs Cemetery to honor Soleimani. The first explosion ripped through the crowd just before 3 p.m. local time. As terrified mourners fled in all directions, a second bomb went off about 20 minutes later. The second explosion killed and wounded more people, Iranian interior minister Ahmad Vahidi told state TV. An image grab from a video released by state-run Iran Press news agency on January 3, 2024 shows ambulances leaving the site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman. (Photo by -/IRAN PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
The bombs were placed in suitcases and detonated by remote control, according to Iran’s state-supported Tasnim news agency. Tensions were already high in the Middle East before the bombings. Three Iran-backed militia groups — Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels — have attacked Israeli, American and commercial targets in the region. Israel has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians in its war against Hamas in Gaza. An injured man receives assistance after two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd marking the anniversary of the 2020 killing of Guards general Qasem Soleimani, near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, 2024. (Photo by -/MEHR NEWS/AFP via Getty Images)
However, the most recent mass casualty attack on civilians in Iran was carried out by the Islamic State group. ISIS gunmen killed 15 people at a shrine in October 2022. ISIS is a Sunni extremist group, while Iran is a majority-Shiite nation with Shiite leaders. Wednesday’s attack was the deadliest event in the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A 1981 truck bombing of the Islamic Republican Party’s headquarters killed 72 people. The first explosion occurred about half a mile from Soleimani’s grave, while the second blast was set slightly farther away. Soleimani was revered by supporters of the Iranian regime and considered a master of manipulating violent regional politics for the nation’s benefit. A man holds portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L) and slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani during the ceremonies marking the anniversary of his killing in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 3, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
Days after he was killed at an airport near Baghdad, thousands of people attended Soleimani’s funeral in Kerman. That event also turned violent, as 56 people were killed in a stampede and more than 200 others were injured. With News Wire Services