Iran calls for “revenge” against Islamic State at funeral for victims of attack

State television shows images showing thousands of people in front of the shrine of Imam Ali, where the ceremony takes place. Relatives pray before the victims' coffins lined up and draped in the Iranian flag, Reuters reports. Many of the attendees demand “revenge” and shout against Israel and the United States.

The president, Ebrahim Raisi, spoke in a televised message about the “inhuman” attack and warned that “our forces will decide the place and time to act” in response. “Our enemies can see the power of Iran and the entire world knows its strength and capabilities.”

The Middle East and the West have their sights set this Friday on the Islamist republic and the political and social catharsis that may occur after the worst attack suffered in its territory in decades. To the deceased, almost three hundred injured are added as a result of the action of two suicide bombers who detonated two belt bombs in the middle of the crowd that remembered General Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds force of the Revolutionary Guard assassinated in 2020. by an American drone.

Although the Islamic State has struck Iran on previous occasions, and last August carried out a similar attack with more than fifty deaths in Afghanistan in a demonstration of its murderous power, the West wonders about the fact that there has been chose this moment – ​​in the midst of an escalation of regional tensions – for its attack. The jihadist organization, in the statement in which it assumes responsibility, justifies it by its enmity with the “polytheists” and encourages the “lions of Islam” to also attack “Jews and Christians” around the world for the offensive. about the Palestinians in Gaza.

Aaron Zelin, an expert at the Washington Near East Policy Institute think tank, explained to Reuters that the attack could have been organized by the Afghanistan-based branch of the Islamic State, the so-called Isis-K. This group, weakened within the country itself, would instead try to demonstrate its strength to unleash terror abroad. In that sense, beyond the Israeli conflict, the Kerman attack would have an internal reading. Isis would have decided to hit Iran on Wednesday taking advantage of the symbolism of the anniversary of the death of Suleimani, who played a key role against the caliphate and helped the retreat of the Islamic State in its fiefdoms in Syria and Iraq.

“The increased external focus of ISIS-Khorasan is probably the most worrying development,” confirms a report from the United States National Counterterrorism Center published last August. This analysis confirmed that the blows dealt to the organization, which among others caused the death of three generals and at least 13 other high-ranking agents in Iraq and Syria in 2022, contributed to a loss of experience and a decrease in ISIS attacks. in the Middle East.” But at the same time he warned of the expansion of the Islamic State »in Africa« and other evidence collected in 2023 that would point to a new strategy to spread horror.

The instability has once again concentrated the main envoys of the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the European Union, the head of diplomacy Josep Borrell, in the region in an attempt to avoid an escalation of tensions. The first opens this Friday a tour of Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt, as well as Turkey and Greece. His stated objectives on this trip are to improve the security of civilians in Gaza, increase humanitarian aid and help resolve the hostage crisis, but his most important mission will be to challenge all of these countries to find out how they can contribute to deactivating pressure in the Middle East, the “toughest” challenge according to the White House itself. “No one is interested, neither in Israel, nor in the region, nor in the world, if this conflict extends beyond Gaza,” declared government spokesman Matthew Miller.

For his part, Josep Borrell lands this Friday in Lebanon, where he will meet with the country's highest political and military authorities, as well as with the head of the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon, Spanish General Aroldo Lazaro. The European Foreign Affairs representative will discuss “all aspects of the situation in Gaza”, in addition to the situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border, as noted by Brussels in a statement. Borrell has warned that there is a real risk that “the entire Middle East will be engulfed in flames” and will place special emphasis on “the importance of avoiding a regional escalation.”