Speaker 1 (00:00):
Iran is holding a day of mourning for the nearly 100 people killed in two explosions in the south-eastern city of Kerman, which have further raised tensions in the Middle East. (00:12) The blasts came as hundreds of Iranians gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top military commander, who was killed by a US drone in 2020. Iranians fled after two bags containing explosives were detonated, remotely, at the entrance to the cemetery. It remains unclear who was behind the bombings. Iran has blamed Israel and the US for the attack, but that's been dismissed as irresponsible by Washington. Here's Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi.
Ebrahim Raisi (00:46): I warn the Zionist regime. Do not have doubt. You will pay the price for this crime and all the crimes you committed, which will be very regrettable.
Speaker 1 (00:57): Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi there, and the US has, as I said, denied any involvement and says there's nothing to suggest that Israel was behind the attack. Have a listen to the National security spokesperson, John Kirby, responding to a reporter's question at the White House briefing.
John Kirby (01:13): We have no indication at this time at all that Israel was involved in any way whatsoever.
Reporter (01:19): No indication, but just to be clear, you don't think, did they support or assist in some other way?
John Kirby (01:25): I'm not going to speak for another nation. I would just tell you that we have no indication that Israel was in any way involved in this.
Speaker 1 (01:32): National security spokesperson, John Kirby, there. Professor Sahar Razavi is the director of the Iranian and Middle Eastern Study Center at California State University and she told us that today will be a very difficult day.
Sahar Razavi (01:46): I think that we can expect a response from Iran. Of course, it's not surprising that the president and the Supreme leader have blamed Israel and the United States, not just because of the situation in Gaza at the moment, but also because of everything that has led here and the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran. I expect a response, certainly. I think that the days to come could inch us closer to a regional conflict that could go much wider than it is now and, certainly, I'm very concerned about what's going to happen next. (02:19) I think it is a given that we will see a response when, after Soleimani himself was killed, Iran vowed a response and the response came, but it came at a time that there were no service members at the base in Iraq and people were not killed. It was a more symbolic act than it was an act of warfare. We don't know at this point who is responsible. I think it's far too early for us to be able to come to any kind of responsible conclusions, but I think it's quite possible that there will be more of an escalation. It is also possible that there will be a strategic or symbolic act that is meant to send a message without engulfing the entire region in a wider war.