Israel is responsible for the twin-bombings that killed more than 100 people at the grave of Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian vice-president has claimed.

Mohammed Mokhber said the “pure blood of innocent people” had been spilled after two explosions tore through a crowd gathering to mark the anniversary of the 2020 killing of the former commander of the Iranian revolutionary Guard Corps’ external wing. 

He blamed the “agents of the Zionist entity and its supporters.”

However, Ahmed Vahidi, Iran’s interior minister, refrained from blaming Israel. “Those behind today’s terrorist acts in Kerman are not yet known to us,” he said. 

State media reported 103 people had been killed and 141 others injured, with some “in critical condition”. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, which hit on the fourth anniversary of the killing of Soleimani in a US-drone strike. 

It comes amid fears of regional escalation after Israel assassinated Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut on Tuesday.

Soleimani headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, overseeing military operations across the Middle East.

President Ebrahim Raisi condemned the “heinous” crime as the Islamic Republic of Iran declared Thursday a national day of mourning.

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