The terrorist attack on Iranian mourners marking the anniversary of the assassination of Ghasem Soleimani reminds us that Iran has many enemies. Not only the US and Israel, but also the Islamic State, which is responsible for the attack.
It's January 3, 2024, and Kerman is celebrating the death of Ghasem Soleimani, an Iranian shahid (martyr), a man with the undisputed status of a national hero, the commander of the elite Godsi unit. The first explosion occurred at 15:04 local time, 1.5 kilometers from his grave. The crowd in the funeral procession runs away.
The second explosion occurs thirteen minutes later, exactly 2.7 kilometers from the grave. Then more people die. The choice of the location of the second explosion was probably not accidental. Strategically located away from the celebration site, the attacker was also able to kill those who miraculously survived the first attack, panicked and tried to flee the Kerman military cemetery as quickly as possible. A total of 89 people died, although this number may rise due to the serious injuries of many of the injured. The first reaction expressed by the President's Chief of Staff, Mohammad Jamshid, was: This is Israel.
A new war in the Middle East?
Although we now know that Jamshid's allegations turned out to be false – that the Islamic State carried out the attack – they were not completely unfounded. Fundamentalist anti-Israelism is one reason for existence The Islamic Republic of Iran and for Israel, action against Iran is one of their political priorities, but the situation between the two countries has not been tense for a long time – so much so that the US once again had to play a role. Soothing customs. The role of the US is undoubtedly ironic, considering the fact that it was the Trump administration that carried out the selective elimination (targeted killing) of Qassem Soleimani in 2020, which, among other things, violated international law.
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In an era of escalation motivated by Iran's consistent support for Hamas and the Iranian Foreign Ministry's repeated threats that this support would not only be maintained but expanded, perhaps beyond the long-standing model of proxy conflict, this was not the case. It is difficult for Jamshidi and I to get carried away with emotions, thinking about the last attack casus belli A new war in the Middle East. Probably long, extremely brutal and infinitely deadly.
However, in the case of the January 3rd attack, there were early suspicions that this was not a pattern of Israeli action. As the Israeli journalist and historian Ronen Bergman recalls, between 1948 and 2000, the Israeli services carried out about 500 selective killings, and in the next eight, up to 1,800. This is a period of exceptional growth in usage. This deadly tool, which marks the beginning of America's war on terrorism and the popularization of the use of technically advanced drones. The last such attack was carried out by the Israeli armed forces on December 25, 2023, in Syria, killing Razi Mousavi – an Iranian general, as well as Soleimani, who served in the Gods unit.
National mourning after Soleimani's death
Qasem Soleimani escaped death at least once as a result of the selective elimination carried out by the Israeli services in cooperation with the CIA, although at the time he was not perceived as a particularly valuable leader – especially to the Americans. On February 12, 2008, Imad Mughnia, a man believed to be the attacker of the Lebanese. Hezbollah. Israeli agents awaiting Mughnia's appearance in Kafr Susa, a suburb of Damascus, served not only him but Suleiman and General Mohammed Suleiman, a close associate of Bashar al-Assad. They wanted to kill them all, but the CIA wouldn't let them.
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Ehud Olmert, then Israel's prime minister, openly regretted the missed opportunity and observed Iran's growing position in the following years, with particular emphasis on its role in arming Hezbollah through a virtually unchecked arms transfer channel through Syria.
However, soon Soleimani would come out of the shadows and gain real fame not only in Iran. In 2014, the world media wrote about his undeniable role in the fight… Islamic State. In Iraq, Soleimani's Shia militias fought against ISIL for a long and bloody time, and in Iran itself a cult of the general's personality is emerging, which some believe was Iran's answer to the cult of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. For Shiite Iran, the presence of an extremist Sunni pseudo-caliphate abroad was a mortal threat.
In its podcast, which was recorded shortly after Soleimani's death, the “New York Times” quotes a statement from one of the young participants in the funeral of the lieutenant general. He said at the time: “When I knew that General Soleimani was there somewhere, I felt safe.” A figure equal to the heroes of the old Iranian epic and almost equal to the Shiite imams was for a large number of Iranians – even those who daily condemn the republic – a guarantor of state security.
When Soleimani was killed by US operatives on January 3, 2020, Iran plunged into national mourning. He was buried with honors, a mix of sacred and secular orders, and his funeral was the largest gathering since Iranians bid farewell to Ayatollah Khomeini.
A seemingly illogical attack
The Islamic State soon acknowledged the launch of the attack on January 3, 2024, and considered the January celebrations to be symbolically important because of Soleimani's role in the fight against the pseudo-caliphate fighters. Although the organization did not specify in the statement which cell was responsible for the attack, it is believed to be the Islamic State of Khorasan, which is now active in the area. Afghanistan. The attack was carried out by two attackers – Umar al-Mowahid and Saifullah al-Mujahid. Contrary to the first reports, they did not detonate bombs hidden in bags or trash cans – they had explosive material (an element called “Shahid's belt” in Poland).
Why did the Islamic State attack the citizens of Iran when it remains among the two countries in the Islamic world that it openly and militarily supports Hamas? This seems illogical – after all, Daesh fighters are advocating the complete absence of Israel, so any action directed against that country should be good news for the Islamic State terrorists.
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However, hatred of Shiites, who are considered traitors to “correct” Islam, is a priority for Islamic State fighters. Its representatives have repeatedly condemned Hamas for cooperating with Iran, which they believe is unacceptable, even at the cost of greater Palestinian effectiveness. Although this is not the only terrorist act carried out by ISIS in Iran in recent years, it seems special in some respects – especially because of its scale and symbolism. On January 3, the Islamic State took advantage of Palestine in a way, taking advantage of the fact that all eyes in Tehran are now on Gaza.
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Karolina Cieslik-Jakubiak – Student of the Department of Iranian Studies at the University of Warsaw, especially interested in Iranian nationalism and the theory of Middle Eastern nationalism. He likes writing the history of Iran and Islam the most.