The guilty party behind the bombing in Iran that claimed the lives of 84 people has been revealed. The Islamic State claimed the bombing, in retaliation for Iran’s war against them since 2014.
Adding ISIS to the regional conflict adds more complexity to an already volatile situation. While Israel and America are ISIS’s final enemy, it is currently focused on attacking Muslims it deems heretical such as Shia Iran. The NY Times reports:
The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for the bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, a day before, during a memorial procession for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, according to a post on the extremist group’s official Telegram account.
The extremist group called the attack a “dual martyrdom operation,” and described how two militants approached a ceremony at the tomb of General Suleimani and detonated explosive belts strapped to their bodies “near the grave of the hypocrite leader.”
Iran and others in the Middle East have accused America and Israel of being behind ISIS. The purported aim would be to sow division within Radical Islam and prevent regional domination. ISIS has nevertheless attacked targets in the West, most notably France, Germany, and Belgium. CNN reports:
The group offered no further proof and their account of the blasts differs from that given by Iranian media. The death toll provided by ISIS was also significantly higher than that reported by Iranian officials.
Iran did not immediately comment on ISIS’ claim of responsibility. But Iran’s official state news agency IRNA, as well as its English-language state media outlet Press TV, both reported on the ISIS claim of responsibility.
ISIS’s joining in the conflict could precipitate other regional actors to jump in. Hizbollah and Syria will want to continue fighting ISIS, but could propagandize and link ISIS and Israel together to justify their aims.
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