Iran stands accused by the West of playing a key role in unrest plaguing West Asia, but twin bombings claimed by Islamic State group jihadists are a keen reminder of its own internal weaknesses, analysts say.
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Wednesday’s double suicide bombing left about 90 dead during a ceremony near the tomb of General Qasem Soleimani, on the fourth anniversary of the death of the revered former commander from powerful Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Iran, sworn enemy of Israel, has established an “axis of Iranian resistance” in the region, relying on Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and Huthi rebels in Yemen.
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“Iran does not need to mobilise a single Iranian soldier. Its proxies do the work,” said Hasni Abidi, director of the Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World in Geneva.
‘Remains fragile’
But while Iran has become “an important regional power with an enormous ability to do harm, it is internally fragile”, he added.
Tehran has denied any role in the October 7 attacks when Iran-backed Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border with Israel, in a bloody operation which left some 1,140 people dead, according Israeli official figures. The Islamic Republic has also rejected any notion that it has helped foment Houthi attacks against ships in a key Red Sea strait in the months since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, which have badly disrupted international trade.
Wednesday’s attack claimed by the IS jihadists is a potent reminder that Israel is not Tehran’s only adversary, and it faces other, strong internal threats.
“The fact that the Islamic Republic remains vulnerable to terrorism and cannot protect its own citizens from a massive attack reveals serious security weaknesses,” said Sanam Vakil, a director with the Chatham House think tank. “The political and security establishment will certainly be seen to be culpable,” he added.