Twin blasts rock Iran's Kerman: Khamenei vows 'harsh response'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed a "harsh response". 

"The evil and criminal enemies of the Iranian nation once again created a disaster and martyred a large number of dear people in Kerman," said Khamenei in a statement.

"This disaster will have a harsh response, God willing." 

Soleimani led the al-Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the same force which was designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US. 

The mighty Iranian general called the shots and kept the proxy militias across the Middle East at his fingertips, with one journalist suggesting that Soleimani "matters in death as much as in life." 

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Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi condemned the blasts. 

"Undoubtedly, the perpetrators ... of this cowardly act will soon be identified and punished for their heinous act by the capable security and law enforcement forces," said Raisi in a statement. 

"The enemies of the nation should know that such actions can never disrupt the solid determination of the Iranian nation," he added. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday expressed his condolences over twin blasts.  

"The killing of peaceful people visiting the cemetery is shocking in its cruelty and cynicism," Putin said in a letter to Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran declared Thursday a day of mourning following twin blasts.  

"Following the terrorist incident in Kerman, the government declared tomorrow (Thursday) a day for public mourning across the country," state television announced on Wednesday. 

Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, who is Iran's Head of Judiciary, said in a statement: "The agents and perpetrators of this grievous crime will undoubtedly be punished". 

"Responsible intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies are obligated to promptly pursue all the evidence and perpetrators and hand them over to the judiciary," Ejei added. 

At least 103 people were killed Wednesday in two blasts near the grave of slain Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani, state media reported, in what officials called a "terrorist attack".

"The number of people killed rose to 103 following the death of people injured during the terrorist explosions," the official IRNA news agency said. 

IRNA said 141 people were wounded in the blasts with some "in critical condition". 

Hundreds of people were present at the cemetery, and in the aftermath, state TV showed Red Crescent rescuers attending to wounded people at the ceremony. More than 170 have been injured. 

Reza Fallah, head of the Kerman province Red Crescent told state TV: "Our rapid response teams are evacuating the injured... But there are waves of crowds blocking roads."

The blasts stuck near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani's southern hometown where he is buried, as supporters gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of his death in a US drone strike just outside Baghdad airport. 

The exact cause of the blasts is not known yet. 

According to the semi-official Nournews, "several gas canisters exploded on the road leading to the cemetery". 

The incident happened on the anniversary of Soleimani's killing in a US drone strike in Iraq in 2020.

The state media quoted a local official in the Kerman province as saying that the "blasts were caused by terrorist attacks". 

Bombings near the tomb of an Iranian general killed 73 people and injured 170.