Who is behind twin bomb blasts in Iran?

Two bombs exploded and killed at least 84 people at a commemoration for a prominent Iranian general slain by the United States in a 2020 drone strike.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for what appeared to be the deadliest militant attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The explosions struck minutes apart on Wednesday, shaking the city of Kerman, about 820 kilometers southeast of the capital, Tehran. The second blast sprayed shrapnel into a screaming crowd fleeing the first explosion.

The gathering marked the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.

Iranian state television and officials described the attacks as bombings, without immediately giving clear details of what happened. The attacks came a day after a deputy head of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the attackers will face a harsh response, though he didn’t name any possible suspect. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi added “Undoubtedly, the perpetrators and leaders of this cowardly act will soon be identified and punished.”

Iran has multiple foes that could be behind the assault, including exile groups, militant organizations and state actors.

While Israel has carried out attacks in Iran over its nuclear program, it has conducted targeted assassinations, not mass casualty bombings.

A US State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said American officials had no reason to believe Israel was involved in Wednesday’s attack in Iran. That was echoed by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby at the White House, who said our hearts go out to all the innocent victims and their family members.

Iran also has seen mass protests in recent years, including those over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022. The country also has been targeted by exile groups in attacks dating back to the turmoil surrounding its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel is suspected of launching the attack Tuesday that killed a deputy head of Hamas in Beirut, but that attack caused limited casualties in a densely populated neighborhood of the Lebanese capital. Last week, a suspected Israeli strike killed a Revolutionary Guard commander in Syria.

The government of neighboring Iraq expressed condolences to the victims, and the European Union issued a statement offering its solidarity with the Iranian people.

Saudi Arabia, a longtime regional rival which reached a détente with Iran last year, offered its sympathies.