Turkish foreign minister gives condolences for terror attack in Iran

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan conveyed condolences Thursday for those killed in a terror attack in Iran, during a telephone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

Fidan and Amir-Abdollahian also discussed the upcoming visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Türkiye.

Raisi was scheduled to visit Thursday and meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but the trip was postponed after a telephone call between the presidents following the attack Wednesday.

The blasts occurred outside the cemetery in Kerman where thousands had gathered to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the death of the former chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in 2020.

Earlier, authorities had put the death toll at 103, which was later revised by forensic experts to 84, including 284 injured.

The Daesh terror group claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement on Telegram.

The group said "more than 300" were killed in two suicide bombings in the Iranian city, identifying the two bombers as Omer al-Mohed and Safiullah Mujahid who detonated explosive-laden vests in the crowd.

The attacks are the deadliest since the 1979 revolution in terms of casualties.​​​​​​​