IRGC Twitter video capture
At least 95 people were killed in an attack at a memorial site of former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) general Qasem Soleimani in Iran on the 3rd (local time). Iranian authorities initially said at least 103 people had died, but later lowered the number to 95.
According to foreign media such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a bomb exploded near Soleimani’s tomb where a funeral ceremony was taking place, killing at least 95 people. His funeral ceremony was held in Kerman, about 1,000 km south-east of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
A total of two explosions occurred during the memorial ceremony. The first explosion occurred about 700 meters from Soleimani’s tomb around 2.50pm. The second explosion occurred 1 km away. The ISNA news agency reported that the explosions occurred within 10 minutes of each other.
No group has yet come forward to claim responsibility for this explosion. However, suspicions turn to Israel because this attack came after Israel killed senior Hamas officials in a drone strike in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, the previous day.
Kerman Deputy Prime Minister Raman Jalali described the explosion as a “terrorist attack”. However, the Associated Press reported that it did not specify who was behind it.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA quoted an Iranian official as saying: “It is unclear whether this incident was caused by a gas explosion or a terrorist attack.”
The BBC highlighted that the explosion came against a backdrop of rising tensions in the region after Saleh al-Aroui, the second member of the Iranian-backed Hamas political bureau and third-highest-ranking member, was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon.
If Israel were identified as responsible for this explosion, concerns would increase that Iran could intervene in the war between Israel and Hamas.
According to IRNA, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi appeared on a broadcast that day and expressed his stance to respond quickly, saying: “This terrorist attack will be followed by a decisive and destructive response from the security forces and of the military in the shortest possible time. “
He said an investigation has already begun to determine the cause and origin of the attack.
Iran declared the day of the explosion a day of mourning.
Soleimani was responsible for the IRGC’s network of Iranian armed groups in the Middle East. This was a direct link between Iran and Iranian-backed armed groups in the Middle East, such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
He was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 3, 2020. At the time, the US Department of Defense announced that the assassination of Commander Soleimani had occurred on the orders of former President Trump.
After the news of the Iranian terrorist attack broke, international oil prices skyrocketed.
Oil prices jumped 1.8% on news that the Sahara oil field, which produces 300,000 barrels a day, had begun a partial cut in production due to sudden protests at Libya’s largest oil field, and then surge more than 3% after news of the Iranian terrorist attack broke down.
According to CNBC, Brent crude oil, the international oil price standard, rose $2.31 (3.04%) per barrel to $78.20, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US oil prices rose by $2.28 (3.24%) to $72.66 per barrel. Reporter Yoo-kyung Cho, Donga.com reporter [email protected]
2024-01-03 21:58:00
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