Islamic State claims responsibility for lethal attack in Iran, 84 lives lost
As noted by Reuters, the announcement was made via ISIS's social media channels. Before this revelation, speculation about potential culprits had included the internal opposition in Iran, political exiles, and Israel.
Attack in Iran results in several dozen fatalities
Initially, Iranian authorities reported 103 casualties from Wednesday's explosion. However, on Thursday, this information was corrected to at least 84 recorded deaths and 284 injuries. This update came after officials duplicated some names on the victim list. The attack occurred near Qasem Soleimani's tomb.
Incidentally, the attack was carried out on the anniversary of the death of General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Iranian Al-Quds unit. Soleimani was killed on January 3, 2020, during an American drone attack at the airport in Baghdad.
The U.S. authorities claimed that Soleimani was responsible for planning attacks on American targets in the Middle East. It was alleged that his targets included U.S. embassies and military bases and that the attacks were imminent.
