India on Thursday expressed solidarity with Iran following the bombings in the city of Kerman in Iran that killed at least 95 people and injured at least 211 people. “We are shocked and saddened by the terrible bombings in the Kerman City of Iran. At this difficult time, we express our solidarity with the government and people of Iran. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and with the wounded,” the Union ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a tweet.
We are shocked and saddened on the terrible bombings in the Kerman City of Iran. At this difficult time, we express our solidarity with the government and people of Iran. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and with the wounded.
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) January 4, 2024
The blasts that struck attendees at a commemoration for prominent Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the US in a drone strike in 2020, is being pegged as the deadliest militant attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran has vowed to punish the perpetrators of the attack and termed the bomb blasts as ‘terrorist attacks’. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. Iran blamed the US and Israel for playing a role in these attacks but both of these nations have denied taking the responsibility for these attacks.
The explosions struck minutes apart on Wednesday, shaking the city of Kerman, about 820 kilometres (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. The second blast sprayed shrapnel into a screaming crowd fleeing the first explosion, news agency Associated Press said.
“Washington says USA and Israel had no role in terrorist attack in Kerman, Iran. Really? A fox smells its own lair first,” the Iranian president’s political deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Make no mistake. The responsibility for this crime lies with the US and Zionist regimes (Israel) and terrorism is just a tool,” he added.
“The United States was not involved in any way… We have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Asked about the blasts, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “We are focused on the combat with Hamas.”
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed “evil and criminal enemies” of the country for the attack and vowed a “harsh response”.
President Ebrahim Raisi, who scrapped a visit to Turkey on Thursday, condemned the “heinous” crime as the Islamic Republic of Iran declared Thursday a national day of mourning.
(with inputs from AFP)
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