Iran IS says it was behind bombings that killed 84

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack on a crowd in southern Iran marking the anniversary of the death of the senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Suleimani.

- Patrick Wintour

At least 84 people died when two blasts ripped through the crowd near Suleimani's tomb in the city of Kerman, four years after he was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Suleimani had been a staunch enemy of IS, which resents the damage he did to its cause in Iraq and Syria.

Early yesterday Iran had said it was bolstering security along its borders, in the first tangible sign that it suspected the attack was the work of an IS affiliate. "We have points on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan that are a priority for blocking," said its interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi. 

Later in the day, in a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the Sunni extremist group said two IS members had detonated their explosive belts in the crowd.