Islamic State Claims Its Suicide Bombers Were Responsible For Deadly Blasts In Iran

A man is comforted as he sits next to the covered body of a loved one who was killed in the explosions in the city of Kerman on January 3.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has claimed responsibility for a pair of explosions in Iran that killed at least 84 people during commemorations for a former Iranian commander slain four years ago in a U.S. airstrike.

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) dismissed reports in Iranian media and echoed by an international news agency that shooting broke out in Kerman on January 4.

Earlier on January 4, an aide to Iran's president blamed Israel and the United States for the explosions. The United States rejected suggestions that either Israel or Washington was behind the blasts.

President Ibrahim Raisi has vowed that the perpetrators "of this cowardly act will soon be identified and punished for their heinous act by the capable security and law enforcement forces."

During a visit to a hospital treating some of the injured, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said "a very strong retaliation will be handed to [the perpetrators] on the hands of the soldiers of Soleimani."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the blasts, while the UN Security Council said they were "reprehensible." A statement from the Security Council "condemned in the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist attack in the city of Kerman."

During his funeral in 2020, a stampede broke out and at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in a procession of thousands of Iranians.

Considered at the time to be one of the most powerful men in Iran and the architect of Tehran's foreign policy in the region, Soleimani was killed in what the United States called a "defensive" drone strike while he was traveling in a two-car convoy near Baghdad's international airport early on January 3, 2020.

The Quds Force is the elite foreign arm of the IRGC and has been declared a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.

In a statement on Telegram, the group said two of its members "activated their explosives vests" at a gathering marking the anniversary of the death of Qasem Soleimani, a former commander of the elite Quds Force.

The incident has intensified fears of widening conflict in the region as Israel continues its war against the U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Yemeni-based Huthi rebels also allied with Iran continue their attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping.

Iranian state news agency IRNA on January 4 quoted the head of the National Medical Emergency Organization, Jafar Miadfar, as revising the death toll downward for a second time since the explosions, in the southeastern city of Kerman, from 95 to 84 killed and 284 injured.

Iranian authorities declared January 4 a day of mourning for the victims of the blasts.

Al-Qaeda, Al- Nusrah Front, FSA (Free Syrian Army), ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) and many other names should not be confusing; they are all Western backed mercenaries fighting proxy wars. ISIS is currently staging a theater of bloodshed and gore by killing Muslims and at the same time they are debasing the true image of Islam through unimaginably bestial acts. These groups provide American and European countries with a continuous flow of cheap oil, sold at below world market prices through gaining control over oil wells and refineries and selling the product in ‘Black Markets’. Finally and above all, these groups, notably ISIS, ensure Israel’s security(3). Who would have been able to guarantee these big American and European interests in the Middle East while allowing Americans and their allies to save face by keeping them away from another immediate war in the Middle East? The US started to support the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA), an armed opposition against President Bashar Al-Assad, which later joined Al-Qaeda to form ISIS(4). US senators John McCain, Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham said Washington should “directly and openly” provide assistance, including weapons, intelligence and training, to the insurgents in Syria(5). These three senators also pushed for a bill to arm ISIS terrorists(6). The FSA was branded by Mainstream Media as an army comprised of Syrian nationals and “moderate rebels” but this was not the case; all the members were foreigners(7) and they did the same heinous acts as ISIS. Later, they joined ISIS. American government officials asserted that they were arming moderate rebels; under this guise, they managed to arm terrorist groups in Syria. In the midst of these developments, the German intelligence disclosed plots(8) of CIA working closely with terrorists(9). A similar plan had been attempted in 1957 to assassinate the then-Syrian President, Hafez al-Assad, accusing him of “spreading terrorism” and “preventing the West’s access to Middle East oil”. This plan consisted of arming “political factions with paramilitary or other actionist capabilities, while the CIA and MI6 “would instigate internal uprisings”(10). With the help of US allies, Saudi Arabia(11), Qatar(12), Turkey(13) and Israel(14), who supplied them with a steady diet of money and arms, ISIS started to grow bigger. Britain and France(15) were also among those who helped create ISIS(16), and training was supplied by the US (17). ISIS follows the Wahhabi(18) or Salafi sect, which is hostile to both Shia and Sunni(19), as well as to other religions(20). In early news coverage of the atrocities, murdered Shias and Christians were shown to be the focus of the attacks. Even though the American propaganda machine frequently refers to ISIS combatants as extremist Sunnis in an attempt to keep Americans in a state of fear and distrust of all Muslims, Sunni leaders have issued verdicts calling all Sunni followers to fight against ISIS (21). The crimes which ISIS commits against Sunnis (22) is a clear indication that the conflicts generated by ISIS are not a sectarian issue of Sunnis against Shias, but rather Wahhabis against any groups, Christians or Muslims not following their deviant philosophy. This is aimed at countering the Iranian influence in the region. Thomas McInerney, who is a retired, highly decorated United States Air Force Lieutenant General reported directly to the Secretary of Defense and to the Vice President of the United States, acknowledged in an interview with Fox News that the US support for the ‘wrong people’ in Syria as well as the weapons provided for the rebels in Benghazi, Libya led to the rise and empowerment of ISIS(23). On Obama administration’s policy to arm Syrian rebels against the Syrian government, he said: “We backed I believe in some cases, some of the wrong people and not in the right part of the Free Syrian Army and that’s a little confusing to people, so I’ve always maintained….that we were backing the wrong types.”(24) Edward Snowden, the former NSA employee and the whistleblower who exposed the reach of the US government’s espionage, said based on NSA classified documents which he had access to, that the American, British and Israeli intelligence services worked together to build the group known ISIS (also known as ISIL). Snowden further added that according to those documents, the only solution for the protection of the Jewish state “is to create an enemy near its borders” (25). The same documents also reveal that ISIS kingpin Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was trained by Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad. The Zionist regime not only helped build ISIS and trained its leaders, but also treated the wounded terrorists at their hospitals(26). All those documents aside, if one takes into consideration the current threat that the Israeli regime is facing due to a growing hatred towards its brutal policies against the Palestinians, it would make sense for Israel- and of course for the United States as its mentor and benefactor- to establish ISIS in order to divert the attention of the Western world from Zionism to a fabricated image of "brutal Islam."(27) When in October 2014, the media across the globe widely reported that the United States dropped weapons for ISIS in Iraq, the United States and its supporters claimed that it was just a mistake and the US. military intended to deliver them to Kurdish fighters, who at the time were locked in a fight with the ISIS terrorists over control of the Syrian border town of Kobane(28). However, as Melissa Melton puts it: “... are they really going to claim intelligence failure when, thanks to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's leaks, we now know we live in a world where the US government can suck up the communications data of an entire country at once?”(29) Moreover, the incident happened more than once, so there is no reasonable defense for it to be interpreted as an intelligence failure. Majid al-Ghraoui, a member of the Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi Parliament confirmed the incident and said: “The information that has reached us in the security and defense committee indicates that an American aircraft dropped a load of weapons and equipment to the ISIS group militants at the area of al-Dour in the province of Salahuddin.” He further added that: “This incident is continuously happening and has also occurred in some other regions.”(30) When all these facts are taken into consideration, there is no other conclusion but that the US administration lacks the will and determination (31) to fight ISIS (32). No matter how often American officials claim to be engaged in a war on terror, the facts simply don’t support that position. America and its allies are using a very powerful and sophisticated military machine in the Middle East, but they are not fighting against terrorist groups. In the Iranian fight against ISIS, Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani has the leading figure and he has his own assessment of the war situation: "Obama has not done a damn thing so far to confront Daesh: doesn't that show that there is no will in America to confront it?"(33) *Hossein Amini has a MA in Media & Communication (Iran Broadcasting University). He served as IRIB anchor and has a good understanding of Middle Eastern politics. ________________ References 1. Coll, Steve. Ghost Wars: How Reagan Armed the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan. (interv.) Amy Goodman. June 10, 2004. 2. Whitney, Mike. Why the United States launched its proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Stop the War Coalition. (Online) March 18, 2015. http://www.stopwar.org.uk/news/why-the-united-states-launched-its-proxy-war-against-russia-in-ukraine. And Turse, Nick. Tomorrow's Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa. Haymarket Books. (Online) 2009. http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Tomorrows-Battlefield. 3. Presstv.ir (2015). 'Israel benefits from Syria unrest'. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/29/264090/israel-benefits-from-syria-unrest/ 4. Sly, Liz (2013). Al-Qaeda expands in Syria via Islamic State. Washington Post. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/al-qaeda-expands-in-syria-via-islamic-state/2013/08/12/3ef71a26-036a-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html 5. Presstv.ir (2012). ‘Israel wants regime change in Syria’. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/08/255109/israel-wants-regime-change-in-syria/ 6. Gharib, Ali (2012). McCain, Graham, Lieberman Unveil Resolution Calling For U.S. Help In Arming Syria Rebels. ThinkProgress. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/03/28/453965/mccain-lieberman-graham-resolution-arm-syria-rebels/ 7. Norland, Rod (2012). Two Journalists Freed by Syrian Rebels After Weeklong Ordeal. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/28/world/middleeast/jeroen-oerlemans-john-cantile-two-journalists-freed-by-islamic-fighters-in-syria-after-weeklong-ordeal.html 8. Rosenthal, John (2012). Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs. Atimes.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NG24Ak02.html 9. McAdams, Daniel (2012). Syrian Opposition's Amazing CIA Credentials « LewRockwell.com Blog.Web.archive.org. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from https://goo.gl/Ly1YwX 10. Chossudovsky, Michel (2012). Anglo-American 1957 Secret Plan to Assassinate the Syrian President. Déjà Vu?. Global Research. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.globalresearch.ca/anglo-american-1957-secret-plan-to-assassinate-the-syrian-president-d-j-vu/32254 11. Chulov, M., MacAskill, E., & Densky, J. (2012). Saudi Arabia plans to fund Syria rebel army. the Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/22/saudi-arabia-syria-rebel-army 12. Rabil, R. (2012). Salafists Rise in Syria. The National Interest. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-salafist-rise-7300 13. Doherty, R., & Bakr, A. (2012). Exclusive: Secret Turkish nerve center leads aid to Syria rebels.Reuters. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/us-syria-crisis-centre-idUSBRE86Q0JM20120727 14. Presstv.com,. (2012). PressTV-Israel backs armed gangs in Syria. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/06/10/245450/peres-backs-armed-groups-in-syria/ 15. Williams, L. (2012). 13 French officers being held in Syria. The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Mar-05/165514-13-french-officers-being-held-in-syria.ashx 16. RT English (2012). British, Qatari troops already waging secret war in Syria?. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from https://www.rt.com/news/britain-qatar-troops-syria-893/ 17. Howell, K. (2015). U.S.-trained rebels in Syria hand over weapons to al Qaeda affiliate. The Washingtion Times. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/22/us-trained-rebels-syria-hand-over-weapons-al-qaeda/ 18. For the ideological differences between Wahhabism and Sunni Islam see: Differencebetween.net,. (2015). Difference Between Sunni and Wahabi. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-sunni-and-wahabi/ 19. Crooke, A. (2014). You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html. See this for how Saudi Arabia which follows the Wahhabi sect discriminates against Arab Sunnis: Wilcke, C. (2008). Christoph Wilcke: Discrimination against Ismailis in Saudi Arabia. the Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/sep/22/religion.islam 20. Watson, P. (2012). Syrian Rebels Ransack Christian Churches. infowars. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.prisonplanet.com/syrian-rebels-ransack-christian-churches.html 21. "Cleric Ahmed al-Kubaisi calls for fight against ‘Daesh’ in Iraq." 2014. In Arabic. Accessed on 25 Oct. 2015. from http://www.qanon302.net/news/politics/2014/06/10/20681 22. ISIS killed a Top Sunni cleric see: RT English,. (2013). Top pro-Assad Sunni cleric killed as attack on Damascus mosque kills 42. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.rt.com/news/damascus-mosque-suicide-attack-615/ and blew up a Sunni police station: Liveleak.com (2015). LiveLeak.com - Captagon Terrorist losin' it as Police Station blown up in Sunni Mosul. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2bd_1385183593 killing Sunni children among many others BBC News (2014). Syria conflict: Amnesty says ISIS killed seven children in north - BBC News. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27726035 23. Bukowski, D. (2015). THE COVERT ORIGINS OF ISIS: UNITED STATES, CIA IN LIBYA, SYRIA, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN. VOICE OF DETROIT. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://voiceofdetroit.net/2015/02/09/the-covert-origins-of-isis-united-states-cia-in-libya-syria-iraq-afghanistan/#sthash.LlT3W9TY.dpuf 24. Watson, Paul Joseph. U.S. General: “We Helped Build ISIS” – Islamic State Obtained Weapons from U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Global Research. (Online) September 3, 2014. http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-general-we-helped-build-isis-islamic-state-obtained-weapons-from-u-s-consulate-in-benghazi-libya/5399141?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=u-s-general-we-helped-build-isis-islamic-state-obtained-weapons-from-u-s-c. 25. ISIS Leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi Trained by Israeli Mossad, NSA Documents Reveal. Global Research. (Online) July 16, 2014. http://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-trained-by-israeli-mossad-nsa-documents-reveal/5391593. 26 Syria civil war: The Israeli hospitals treating wounded soldiers from the violence across the border. The Independent. (Online) March 19, 2015. (Cited: September 20, 2015.) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-civil-war-the-israeli-hosapitals-treating-wounded-soldiers-from-the-violence-across-the-border-10121010.html. 27. Haşmet Babaoğlu. Who benefits from ISIS’s existence in the Middle East? Daily Sabah. (Online) August 22, 2014. (Cited: September 21, 2014.) http://www.dailysabah.com/columns/hasmet-babaoglu/2014/08/22/who-benefits-from-isiss-existence-in-the-middle-east. 28. U.S. accidentally delivered weapons to the Islamic State by airdrop, militants say. Washington Post. (Online) October 21, 2014. (Cited: September 21, 2015.) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/10/21/u-s-accidentally-delivered-weapons-to-the-islamic-state-by-airdrop-militants-allege/. 29. Are American Planes Routinely Dropping Weapons to ISIS Fighters in Iraq? Freedom Out Post. (Online) January 8, 2015. (Cited: September 20, 2015.) http://freedomoutpost.com/2015/01/american-planes-routinely-dropping-weapons-isis-fighters-iraq/. 30. Amre Sarhan. American aircraft dropped weapons to ISIS, says MP. Iraqi News. (Online) January 4, 201f. (Cited: September 21, 2015.) http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/american-aircraft-airdropped-weapons-to-isis-says-mp/ 31. "We're losing to ISIS because Obama has no will to fight" The New York Post 2015. 25 Oct. 2015 32. "Special Ops to Obama: Let Us Fight ISIS, Already" The Daily Beast 2015. 25 Oct. 2015 33. "Obama Has Not Done a 'Damn Thing' to Confront ISIS, Iranian Commander Says" Fox News 2015. 25 Oct. 2015

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