Iranian Intelligence Announces Arrests For Deadly Twin Bombing

Iranian state media published the statement on Friday, that claimed several men belonging to different cells were identified and detained. The Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the January 3 bombings in Kerman during a memorial ceremony at the tomb of IRGC’s Qasem Soleimani. He was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.

The deadly attack in Kerman prompted harsh criticism of Iran’s security and intelligence organizations for failing to anticipate and prevent the incident, while they were busy enforcing hijab on women. Since then, officials have made several claims of arrests. However, the Friday statement contained slightly more detail than previous claims.

Stating that ISIS is Israel’s creation, a claim often made by Tehran officials, the intelligence ministry said they arrested two people who entered the country after the January 3 bombing, intending to stage new attacks. It also said that people directly linked to the Kerman bombing were arrested and caches of explosives and weapons seized.

It is often very difficult to verify such statements by Iranian security forces, as access and information is strictly controlled. So far, none of the detainees have been reliably identified. Authorities have provided some names, which might be just pseudonyms.

Following the Kerman incident, Iran launched ballistic missiles earlier this week on targets in Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria and Pakistan, saying it was avenging a series of attacks in Iran. Pakistan retaliated by striking a rural area in southeastern Iran, leading to high tensions in the region.