10:00, 5 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100 people and wounded over 280 others at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani, Reuters reports.

In a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the Islamic State said two of its members had detonated explosive belts in the crowd that had gathered at the cemetery in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman on Wednesday. The Iranian government declared the bombings a terrorist attack.

The memorial was marking the fourth anniversary of the death of Soleimani, who was assassinated in Iraq in 2020 by a U.S. drone.

Tehran has vowed revenge for the bombings.  The twin blasts wounded 284 people, including children.

"A very strong retaliation will be meted out to them by the hands of the soldiers of Soleimani," Reuters quoted Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as saying.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has condemned what he called Wednesday's "heinous and inhumane crime". Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, vowed revenge for the bombings.

The United Nations Security Council in a statement condemned what it called Wednesday's "cowardly terrorist attack" and sent its condolences to the victims' families and the Iranian government.