The Islamic State jihadist group said Thursday that it carried out twin bombings which killed 84 people in Iran, but its claim is unlikely to entirely silence those who see an Israeli hand amid its war with Iran ally Hamas.
Labelled a "terrorist attack" by Iranian authorities, Wednesday's bombings hit crowds commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani, four years after his death in a US drone strike.
More than a thousand mourners attended the funeral in Beirut on Thursday of Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri who was killed in a Lebanon strike blamed on Israel.
Calling on Hamas to avenge his death and the killing of five other members of the Palestinian militant group on Tuesday, the mourners gathered at a mosque to recite the prayer of the dead before marching to Shatila refugee camp where three of them were buried.
A US strike in Baghdad on Thursday killed a pro-Iran military commander, the Pentagon said, with Al-Hashed al-Shaabi ex-paramilitaries saying it hit one of their headquarters.
An Iraqi security official said two people were killed and seven wounded in the drone strike, which the government dubbed a "blatant aggression".
But Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said the strike was an act of self-defence against a commander who was actively planning attacks against US personnel.
A "US strike" in Baghdad on Thursday killed a military commander of the Hashed al-Shaabi, an ex-paramilitary faction of the grouping said, with an Iraqi security official reporting two deaths in a drone attack.
The Iraqi government, supported by pro-Tehran factions, decried an "aggression". It accused a US-led international coalition but stopped short of pinning the blame on Washington, as regional tensions soar amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The Islamic State jihadist group said Thursday that it carried out twin bombings which killed at least 84 people at a memorial ceremony in Iran for slain Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani.
The claim from IS came as Iran observed a day of national mourning for those killed in Wednesday's blasts.
In a statement on Telegram, IS said two of its members "activated their explosives vests" among the crowds who had come to honour Soleimani on the anniversary of his death in a targeted US drone strike in Baghdad four years ago.
Fears have mounted that Israel's war in Gaza could spread across the region after strikes in Lebanon and Iraq as well as deadly blasts in Iran, but experts say a wider conflict is unlikely for now.
What has happened?
Almost three months into the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, tensions are high in the region.
Neighbouring Lebanon, Hamas and a US official have said Israel was behind an air strike that killed Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri, 57, in a stronghold of Lebanese group Hezbollah in Beirut on Tuesday.
Israeli bombing killed dozens of people in besieged Gaza Thursday, the health ministry of the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said, with regional tensions surging over the almost three-month-old war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was headed back to the Middle East for his fourth trip to the region since the Hamas attack of October 7 triggered the bloodiest ever Gaza war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head Thursday to the Middle East as fears mount that Israel's war in Gaza will spread across the region, following deadly blasts in Iran and the killing of a Hamas leader in Lebanon.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the trip -- Blinken's fourth to the region since the start of Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip -- but declined to offer any details on the itinerary apart from a stop in Israel.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will leave Thursday on his fourth crisis trip to the Middle East, an official said, as fears mount that the Israel-Hamas conflict will spiral into a regional war.
The top US diplomat will leave Thursday evening from Washington on a trip that will include Israel, the US official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
The official did not offer any further detail but Blinken on previous trips has visited a number of Arab countries.
Twelve nations led by the United States on Wednesday jointly warned Yemen's Huthi rebels of unspecified consequences unless they immediately halt sea attacks that are increasingly disrupting global commerce.
President Joe Biden's administration described the statement -- joined notably by Britain, Germany and Japan -- as a final warning as he weighs possible military strikes against the Huthis if attacks persist.
