Suspected Terror Attack In Iran Increases Risk In Region

A terrorist attack near the grave site of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in the central Iranian city of Kerman had added to tensions in the Middle East, already heightened due to yesterday's suspected Israeli drone attack which killed senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

• Iranian state media estimates that the death toll could be over 100, a number which may rise due to high numbers of attendees gathered at the site to mark the four-year anniversary of Soleimani's killing in a US drone strike.
• Iran's Tasnim agency reports that the explosions were caused by two bomb-laden suitcases planted near the graveyard entrance and detonated remotely.
• The attack appears inconsistent with a strike from Israeli forces, which would likely come in the form of a surgical strike like in Beirut yesterday, but the highly charged political nature of Soleimani's anniversary - a revered figure in much of Iran - is likely to add to regional tensions at a time when the risk of the war between Israel and Hamas expanding into a broader regional conflict is as acute as it has been since the early days on the war.
• As MNI has noted, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah is expected to deliver a televised address at 18:00 local time (11:00 ET, 16:00 GMT, 17:00 CET).
• Nasrallah has so far kept Hizballah's involvement in the conflict confined to sporadic border skirmishes but the nature of yesterday's attack, deep inside Hizballah-controlled territory, is widely expected to illicit a stronger response.