- US warned Iran of ISIL
- Bombings in Kerman, arrests follow
- US-Iran dialogue remains uncertain
Before the coordinated suicide bombings that ravaged the southeastern city of Kerman and claimed the lives of nearly a hundred individuals, the United States government had discreetly informed Iran of ISIL’s (ISIS) impending terrorist attack.
A US official stated on Thursday that the confidential alert was issued after the country obtained intelligence indicating that an ISIL affiliate in Afghanistan was planning an attack against Iran.
The official, who requested anonymity, said, “The United States government adhered to a longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy that all administrations have implemented to alert governments to potential lethal threats.” “In part, we issue these alerts to prevent the loss of innocent lives in acts of terrorism.”
Two suicide bombings were executed in Kerman on January 3, 2020, in observance of the commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike by the United States in 2020.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) elite Quds Force commander, Soleimani, was killed in an airstrike in Iraq that former US President Donald Trump directed.
The armed group ISIL claimed responsibility for the January 4 attack in Kerman, located approximately 820 kilometers (510 miles) to the southeast of Tehran.
At least 35 individuals were detained throughout Iran in the wake of the bombings, according to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. Authorities have identified the alleged ringleader as Abdollah Tajiki, a Tajik national who goes by the alias Tajiki.
According to a ministry statement, he entered Iran in mid-December by crossing the southeastern border and departed two days before the attack after constructing the bombs.
Iran Retaliates, Regional Tensions Rise
Iranian forces in Syria and Iraq subsequently attacked ISIL-affiliated targets. The alleged headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, was among the targets struck, according to the IRGC.
Tehran consistently asserts that both the United States and Israel support anti-Iranian armed groups that have been implicated in previous attacks.
ISIL claimed responsibility for a 2022 attack that resulted in the deaths of fifteen people at an Iranian Shia shrine.
ISIL has been linked to previous attacks, such as the 2017 twin explosions that targeted the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The Middle East has been engulfed in violence ever since Hamas launched its attacks on Israel on October 7, and Israeli forces subsequently bombarded Gaza, resulting in the deaths of over 26,000 Palestinians.
The United States accuses Iran of providing support to armed groups in Iraq, the Houthi rebels of Yemen, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Olive branch”
Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, DC, stated that despite recent attacks by Iranian-backed proxies on Western interests (including Israeli and American interests), the US warning might reflect a broader desire to engage in dialogue with Tehran.
“This is an olive branch,” Alterman told Reuters, adding that the administration of US President Joe Biden assumed office with the belief that a dialogue between Washington and Tehran could be mutually beneficial.
Consequently, as of now, the Biden administration has been unable to re-establish the 2015 accord that world powers and Tehran reached to restrict Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the suspension of sanctions.
Under the administration of Trump, the United States withdrew unilaterally from the agreement in 2018. Trump argued that the agreement failed to meet its intended objectives and imposed the most severe sanctions on Iran, which continue to be enforced.
