Iran was holding a national day of mourning on Thursday to honor victims of the twin explosions that killed 84 people a day earlier during a memorial ceremony for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, who was killed four years ago in an American drone attack.
General Suleimani, the powerful military leader regarded as a malign force in the West, is revered among many Iranians, especially those who support the government.
Iranian officials had put the death toll for the two blasts, which occurred at the cemetery where General Suleimani is buried in the southern city of Kerman, at 103 on Wednesday. But the interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, said on Thursday that 84 had been killed, according to Tasnim, a semiofficial news agency.
Speaking during a visit to a hospital that was treating people wounded in the explosions, Mr. Vahidi said the death toll might rise again because of the grave condition of some of the injured. A total of 284 were wounded in the attack, including 220 still hospitalized in Kerman, many of whom were in stable condition or requiring minor surgeries, he said, according to Tasnim.
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