https://sputnikglobe.com/20240104/how-could-deadly-iran-bombing-reshape-emerging-middle-eastern-crisis--1115977714.html
How Could Deadly Iran Bombing Reshape Emerging Middle Eastern Crisis?
How Could Deadly Iran Bombing Reshape Emerging Middle Eastern Crisis?
Sputnik International
Powerful blasts killed 84 and left 211 injured on January 3, leaving many asking how they might shape Middle Eastern affairs in the near future.
2024-01-04T18:03+0000
2024-01-04T18:03+0000
2024-01-04T18:17+0000
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Two explosions hit a procession moving towards Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani's tomb in the Iranian city of Kerman on Wednesday, claiming the lives of almost 100 people and leaving many more injured.Daesh* claimed responsibility for the bombing on Thursday, according to a post on the terrorist group's Telegram account. The New York Times pointed out that the Islamic State's announcement "dovetailed with American intelligence assessments" which had pointed to Sunni Islamists or Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) as potentially being behind the terror attack.Initially, Iranian authorities had hinted that the bombing might be linked to Israel's attack on Gaza, suggesting that Tel Aviv or Washington could have been behind it.Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahdi had announced that the explosions came in response to the Axis of Resistance's actions against Israel's Gaza war, without naming any particular nation as being behind the attack, while President Ebrahim Raisi's deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi, was more direct, pointing the finger at Israel and the US."Washington says the US and Israel had no role in the terrorist attack in Kerman, Iran. Really? A fox smells its own lair first," 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."However, the Wall Street Journal has insisted that Israel told allies that it wasn't involved in the attack, while US State Department spokesman Matt Miller has also asserted to press that Washington has "no reason to believe Israel was involved in this explosion." Miller added that the US did not have a hand in the blasts, either.For his part, former Israeli intelligence official and regional analyst Avi Melamed has suggested that several regional militant groups could have orchestrated the explosions.Meanwhile, Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor in contemporary politics and history of the Middle East with a focus on Iran and the Gulf region at Qatar University, insists that one should answer the question "cui bono" ("to whose benefit") while looking for the culprits of the terror attack.He believes the Israeli government may benefit from the unfolding confusion around the region's political status quo.The attack in Kerman coincided with the fourth anniversary of General Soleimani's killing in Baghdad, Iraq, by a US drone strike. Initially, Washington denied its involvement in the 2020 attack. However, in February 2020, the White House released a report justifying the general's assassination. In particular, the Trump government argued that the purpose of the strike was to "deter Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks against United States forces and interests" and to "degrade Iran’s and Quds Force-backed militias’ ability to conduct attacks."At the same time, the professor expressed doubts that Tehran would rush to retaliate in the aftermath of the Kerman bombing but will rather focus on pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza instead."I'm not sure that there will be any kind of expansion on the war and the current status quo. Again, it seems that neither Iran nor Hezbollah are interested in responding now. I think they would be observing the situation in Gaza and looking to see a long-term ceasefire," said Zweiri.In the wake of the Wednesday bomb attack, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged a "harsh response" to those behind it. The attack was carried out just a day after Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, was killed in a drone strike in southern Beirut. Al-Arouri's assassination is widely believed to be committed by Israel, even though Tel Aviv has not taken responsibility for the killing. In December, Iran accused Israel of killing Sayyed Razi Mousavi, an Iranian general serving in the IRGC's Quds Force, in Syria. *Daesh (ISIS/ISIS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240104/irans-top-diplomat-borrell-discuss-blasts-in-city-of-kerman-situation-in-gaza-1115970817.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240104/red-sea-crisis-is-direct-reflection-of-gaza-violence--russian-envoy-to-un-1115972078.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240104/dc-think-tank-israels-beirut-bomb-forces-hamas-hezbollah--iran-to-retaliate-1115976026.html
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How Could Deadly Iran Bombing Reshape Emerging Middle Eastern Crisis?
18:03 GMT 04.01.2024 (Updated: 18:17 GMT 04.01.2024) Powerful blasts killed 84 and left 211 injured on January 3, leaving many asking how they might shape Middle Eastern affairs in the near future.
Two explosions hit a procession moving towards Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani's tomb in the Iranian city of Kerman on Wednesday, claiming the lives of almost 100 people and leaving many more injured.
Daesh* claimed responsibility for
the bombing on Thursday, according to a post on the terrorist group's Telegram account. The New York Times pointed out that the Islamic State's announcement
"dovetailed with American intelligence assessments" which had pointed to Sunni Islamists or Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) as potentially being behind the terror attack.
Initially, Iranian authorities had hinted that the bombing might be linked to Israel's attack on Gaza, suggesting that Tel Aviv or Washington could have been behind it.
Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahdi had announced that the explosions came in response to the Axis of Resistance's actions against Israel's Gaza war, without naming any particular nation as being behind the attack, while President Ebrahim Raisi's deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi, was more direct, pointing the finger at Israel and the US.
"Washington says the US and Israel had no role in the terrorist attack in Kerman, Iran. Really? A fox smells its own lair first," 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."
However, the Wall Street Journal has insisted that Israel told allies that it wasn't involved in the attack, while US State Department spokesman Matt Miller has also asserted to press that Washington has "no reason to believe Israel was involved in this explosion." Miller added that the US did not have a hand in the blasts, either.
For his part, former Israeli intelligence official and regional analyst Avi Melamed has suggested that several regional militant groups could have orchestrated the explosions.
"There is no lack of factors inside Iran that would like to obviously attack the [Iranian government]. And just to name a few, we've got the Kurdish underground. You've got the rebels in southwest Iran. You've got Baluchistan rebels."
Meanwhile, Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor in contemporary politics and history of the Middle East with a focus on Iran and the Gulf region at Qatar University, insists that one should answer the question "cui bono" ("to whose benefit") while looking for the culprits of the terror attack.
"I think the whole incident seems to have one major reason, which is basically 'shuffled the cards'," Zweiri told Sputnik.
He believes the Israeli government may benefit from the unfolding confusion around the region's political status quo.
"It seems that there is a desire to have the Benjamin Netanyahu government expand the conflict beyond Gaza," Zweiri said. "The Americans and other Europeans could intervene and basically transfer the whole conflict into a global conflict."
The attack in Kerman coincided with the fourth anniversary of General Soleimani's killing in Baghdad, Iraq, by a US drone strike. Initially, Washington denied its involvement in the 2020 attack.
However, in February 2020, the White House released a report justifying the general's assassination. In particular, the Trump government argued that the purpose of the strike was to "deter Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks against United States forces and interests" and to "degrade Iran’s and Quds Force-backed militias’ ability to conduct attacks."
"The United States, of course, denied any responsibility for Soleimani's killing. And I think this has happened in the past. And they try to distance themselves from that. But this is not going to be the major issue. The major issue is how the Iranians understand [the situation]," Zweiri noted, stressing that the Iranians want to hold Washington responsible for what it has done.
At the same time, the professor expressed doubts that Tehran would rush to retaliate in the aftermath of the Kerman bombing but will rather focus on pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza instead.
"I'm not sure that there will be any kind of expansion on the war and the current status quo. Again, it seems that neither Iran nor Hezbollah are interested in responding now. I think they would be observing the situation in Gaza and looking to see a long-term ceasefire," said Zweiri.
In the wake of the Wednesday bomb attack, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged a
"harsh response" to those behind it.
The attack was carried out just a day
after Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, was killed in a drone strike in southern Beirut. Al-Arouri's assassination is widely believed to be committed by Israel, even though Tel Aviv has not taken responsibility for the killing.
In December, Iran accused Israel of killing Sayyed Razi Mousavi, an Iranian general serving in the IRGC's Quds Force, in Syria.
*Daesh (ISIS/ISIS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries.
