At least one explosion occurred in the city of Kerman, the hometown of Iranian General Ghassem Soleimani, on the day he died. According to Iranian state media, at least 20 people were killed. Dozens more were injured, state broadcaster Irib and the state news agency Irna reported. An Irna reporter reported a “horrific sound of an explosion.” There were further reports from Iranian media of a second explosion. Kerman’s deputy governor spoke of a terrorist attack, as state broadcaster Irib reported.
Kerman in central Iran is the home of Ghassem Soleimani, the former commander of the foreign units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The USA killed him in a drone strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020.
Soleimani is revered as a martyr by government supporters loyal to the system. On Wednesday too, crowds of people made pilgrimages through the streets of Kerman to Soleimani’s grave site. In a segment broadcast live on state television, bangs and screams could be heard.
The exact reason for the explosion was initially unclear.