Islamic State claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack in Iran that killed almost 100 people and threatened to further inflame tensions in the Middle East. 

The terrorist group was behind the blasts near the grave of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, according to a statement on the group’s Telegram channel. Iran’s health minister said Wednesday that the bombing had left 95 people dead and 211 others injured. 

Iran had said the blasts were aimed at punishing its stance against Israel’s invasion of Gaza, but US officials said from the start that they had the hallmarks of an operation by a group such as Islamic State.

The explosions took place within 15 minutes of each other outside the graveyard where a crowd of people participated in a ceremony to commemorate the death of Soleimani in a US drone strike in Iraq’s capital in 2020. The blasts were caused by bombs planted in a suitcase and a car near the graveyard entrance and detonated remotely, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The attacks came a day after Israel was believed to be behind the killing of a key leader of the Iran-backed Hamas militant group in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, but US officials said there was no reason to suspect Israeli involvement in the Iran bombings. 

Still, the attacks marked a new peak in regional tensions since Israel began its war against Hamas after the group — designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union — infiltrated Israel on 7 October and killed about 1,200 people. Since the conflict began, Houthis — an Iranian proxy force in Yemen — have fired missiles and drones against commercial ships in the Red Sea, while Hezbollah has launched attacks against Israel from its bases in Lebanon. 

Tehran said at least 84 people were dead and 220 others wounded.

Only hours after the blasts — the Islamic Republic’s deadliest since its founding in 1979 — more than a dozen countries led by the US increased their pressure on Tehran. 

They issued a warning against Houthi militia, an Iranian proxy force in Yemen, against continuing their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, which have disrupted global commerce and triggered a build-up of Western naval power in the area.

The latest series of events highlight the risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted, but many analysts still view a direct US-Iran confrontation as a remote possibility.

Most observers predict a growing number of tit-for-tat proxy attacks.

Baghdad blast kills two Iranian-backed militia commanders

Another explosion in Baghdad from a drone attack on a security headquarters belonging to an Iranian-backed militia killed two of the group’s commanders on Thursday, Iraq’s Al-Sumaria TV reported.

The attack was blamed on US-led coalition forces in the country and is a “dangerous escalation and assault”, Yahya Rasool Abdullah, spokesman for the head of the Iraqi Armed Forces, said.

Reuters said at least four members of the Iran-backed group died in the blast.

Groups backed by Iran have escalated attacks across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen since Israel struck back against Hamas.

US, other countries warn Houthis against further attacks in Red Sea

More than a dozen countries warned the Houthis against continuing their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

“The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” governments, including the US, the UK, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and New Zealand, said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

They called the attacks “illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilising.”

US officials said later that Singapore had also signed on to the statement.

Asked if the US and allies were contemplating preemptive action to prevent further attacks, a senior administration official on Wednesday declined to detail any further steps against the Houthis, instead pointing to the warning issued earlier.

The US would act in concert with other nations as they saw fit, the senior official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that the administration had been keen to avoid a resumption of open warfare in Yemen, which had suffered from years of civil conflict.

The official characterised the Houthi use of anti-ship missiles as unprecedented, saying they were travelling at Mach 5 when US forces shot them down.

People familiar with the matter have said the US and its allies are considering possible military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, in a recognition that a maritime task force launched by Washington may not be enough to eliminate the threat to the vital waterway that normally handles about 12% of the world’s commerce.

The Red Sea attacks and war on Hamas will be top of the agenda when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to the Middle East this week.

The UN Security Council met on Wednesday to discuss the Red Sea attacks on a request by countries including the US.

“We cannot leave it like that, we need to take action,” Nicolas de Riviere, the French envoy to the UN who currently presides over the council, told reporters Tuesday.

“It’s a different issue from Gaza, but again, it’s an additional threat posed to the stability of this region.”

Spot container shipping rates soar 173% on Red Sea threats

Short-term rates for container shipping between Asia, Europe and the US are climbing on reduced capacity caused by the threats to cargo vessels in the Red Sea.

The spot rate for shipping goods in a 40-foot container from Asia to northern Europe now tops $4,000, a 173% jump from just before the diversions started in mid-December, Freightos.com, a cargo booking and payment platform, said late Wednesday.

The cost for goods from Asia to the Mediterranean increased to $5,175, Freightos said, adding that some carriers had announced prices above $6,000 for this route starting in mid-January.

Rates from Asia to North America’s East Coast have risen 55% to $3,900 for a 40-foot container.

Services from Asia to northern Europe and the Mediterranean both cost more than twice their levels in January 2019, but are still well below their peaks during the pandemic, said Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos.

A separate gauge of spot container rates released Thursday also showed a surge. According to the Drewry World Container Index, rates from China to Europe have more than doubled since 21 December, and those from Shanghai to Los Angeles rose 30%.

The rate spike is part of the fallout from a slowdown in Suez Canal traffic, which has slumped by more than a quarter in recent days as vessels take longer routes to avoid missile strikes from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

UAE pledges to maintain Israel ties amid war against Hamas

The United Arab Emirates will stick by its decision to establish warmer relations with Israel even as the Jewish state’s war against Hamas leaves Arab governments under mounting pressure to sever ties.

“The UAE has taken a strategic decision, and strategic decisions are long-term,” Anwar Gargash, a UAE presidential diplomatic adviser, told a conference in Dubai on Wednesday.

“There is no doubt that any strategic decision will face multiple obstacles, and we’re facing a major obstacle that must be dealt with.”

Arab states have maintained diplomatic relations with Israel despite public pressure since the deadly conflict in Gaza, which has killed about 22,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The UAE and Bahrain established diplomatic relations with the country in late 2020, through the so-called Abraham Accords.

However, US efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to normalise ties with Israel were halted after Hamas infiltrated Israel on 7 October and killed about 1,200 people.

“There is no alternative to finding a political path to end the Israeli occupation,” Gargash said. “The Arab confrontation with Israel hasn’t been successful.”

Gargash said the UAE was working to support the Palestinians by increasing Arab political coordination and upping the pressure on Israel to find a political solution. DM

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