United States’ targeted drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in January 2020 killed IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani. As Iran mourned his death, twin blasts took place in the southern city of Kerman along the road leading to Kerman’s Martyrs' Cemetery, one near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque and the other near Soleimani’s grave.
At the time, the US government justified the strike suggesting that Soleimani was actively planning imminent attacks on American interests in the Middle East and that the decision was a pre-emptive defensive measure to protect US personnel.
Then US president Donald Trump, as the Commander-in-Chief, had authorised the strike which eliminated Soleimani. Trump had said that the action was taken to ‘stop a war’. Iran at UN termed likened the move to ‘opening a war’.
The killing of Qasem Soleimani raised concerns about potential escalation in tensions between the US and Iran. The cause of the twin blasts is still unclear while Iranian officials termed them ‘terrorist attacks’.
The 2020 airstrike had prompted varied international reactions. Some nations expressed concern about the escalation of hostilities. The latest twin attack comes against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war and Iran-funded Houthi militia attacks on Red Sea shipping.