U.S. intelligence has no reason to believe Israel was responsible for the deadly bombing in Iran Wednesday, two Biden administration officials said.
"We don't have any more detail in terms of how it happened or who might be responsible for it," said John Kirby, the National Security Council's coordinator for strategic communications.
"We have no indication at this time at all that Israel was involved in any way whatsoever," added Kirby, a retired U.S. rear admiral.
Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller made a similar statement at a separate briefing and stressed that the U.S. was not involved in the attack.
"It's too early, at least, for us to be able to say what might have caused it. But I do want to address some of the irresponsible claims that I have seen circulate," Miller began his address.
"No. 1, the United States was not involved in any way, and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous," he continued, "and No. 2, we have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion."
Iran has not officially blamed the U.S. or Israel for the two explosions in the Iranian city of Kerman, which killed at least 103 people and injured 188 others.
The attack was carried out during an event commemorating the anniversary of the death of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2020.
In an interview on state television, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the first explosion happened at 3 p.m. local time, and the second explosion occurred 20 minutes later.
"The evil, criminal enemies of the Iranian nation have once again created a tragedy and martyred a large number of our dear people in Kerman in the fragrant atmosphere of the martyrs' tombs in Kerman," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, posted on X.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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