The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the two explosions that killed 84 people and injured at least 284 on Wednesday (January 3).
It was previously reported that people flocked the cemetery of the southeastern city of Kerman where Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was laid to rest after he was killed by a US drone strike in 2020, the Daily Mail reported.
The Iranian government has described the explosions at a cemetery near Saheb al-Zaman Mosque - where Soleimani was buried - as a "terrorist attack," in the latest in a string of large-scale attacks by Sunni-influenced ISIS against Shiite-majority Iran.
Investigators have already determined that at least the first blast was the work of a "suicide bomber," as per state news agency IRNA, citing what they believed was an "informed source."
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How the Explosions Happened
The country has observed a day of mourning on Thursday (January 4) for those killed and injured in the explosions.
The video showed plumes of smoke rising into the sky as thousands of people who had been walking towards the cemetery screamed in horror, with some of them running away from the scene of the attack.
Several people have been injured in the resulting stampede as they tried to flee the scene, while rescuers had a hard time responding to the mass-casualty event due to the huge crowds blocking the roads.
"Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured..." Iranian Red Crescent Kerman provincial head Reza Fallah told state media on Wednesday. "But there are waves of crowds blocking roads."
State Reaction
Prior to ISIS's declaration, Iranian authorities quickly pinned the blame on the US and Israel.
Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed "evil and criminal enemies" of the Islamic Republic, without naming them, and vowed to harshly respond.
President Ebrahim Raisi's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, Mohammad Jamshidi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the "responsibility for this crime lies with the US and Zionist [Israeli] regimes, and terrorism is just a tool."
Washington officials rejected any suggestion that it or their Israeli allies were behind the bombings, while Israel declined to comment.
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