Iran has revised the death toll from the bombing that took place during a Wednesday ceremony honoring a general killed by the U.S. in a 2020 drone strike.
Iranian officials said at least 84 people were killed and another 284 people were injured in the two explosions in Kerman, The Associated Press reported. This death toll was revised down from the 103 reported Wednesday after officials noticed some names were on the list more than once, but the count could rise as some of the wounded sustained serious injuries, the AP noted.
Two explosions came minutes apart during a commemoration marking the fourth anniversary of the death of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. air strike in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Iranian officials have labeled it a terrorist attack, according to the state-run media outlet Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
A senior U.S. official told reporters Wednesday that ISIS could have been responsible for carrying out the attack.
“It does look like a terrorist attack. The type of thing we’ve seen ISIS do in the past,” said the official. “And as far as we’re aware, that’s … our going assumption at the moment.”
The bombings come as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise due to the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas, which launched a deadly attack on Israel in October. Iran has backed militant groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in the past. Since the war broke out, Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels have launched attacks targeting Israel.
Israel assassinated an Iranian general on Syrian soil last month, but White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday there is no indication Israel was responsible for the deadly explosions.
The Associated Press contributed.
