Al Jazeera Net correspondents
Tehran- In a scene familiar to Iranian culture, authorities removed the famous Jamkran Mosque in Qom city South of the capital, Tehran, the red flag of revenge is placed above its blue dome, seeking revenge for the victims of the Kerman bombings, which symbolizes the duty of revenge.
Coinciding with the funeral of the 89 victims, the Persian press yesterday, Friday, circulated scenes of raising the “red flag of retribution,” four years after it was raised following the assassination of the former commander of the Quds Force, General Qasem Soleimaniwho was killed in an American raid on the road to Baghdad Airport in January 2020.
For its part, the Tehran municipality hastened to replace the giant mural in Vali Asr Square in the center of the capital, with the slogan “Difficult revenge, God willing” in the center of the new painting on a red background.
Revenge alert
Red is one of the colors of Iranian national identity, and symbolizes strength in combat and courage. It is one of the colors of the Iranian flag, under the two colors: green, which symbolizes Islam, and white, which symbolizes peace.
In ancient Iranian culture, red flags were raised over the homes of people of blood, and were not lowered until revenge was taken. During the past years, red flags were raised in funeral marches for symbols of those killed “unjustly” and over the domes of mosques and thresholds, as a sign of national grief and the duty of revenge.
Although the authorities – over the past years – have continued to raise the flag bearing the slogan “Oh, the revenge of Hussein” following the “terrorist” operations that targeted the country’s security, to indicate their intention to take revenge, the latest step was met with widespread reaction from the mourners of the victims, who chanted for revenge against the perpetrators of the two bombings.
Political researcher Hassan Hanizadeh reads the scene of official threats and popular demands for revenge as “a necessary warning of revenge,” adding that his country “has previously carried out military operations during the past few years against targets outside the borders, in retaliation for destabilizing its national security, and retribution for those who caused the bloodshed of Iranians.” “.
Involved parties
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Hani Zadeh confirms that “despite adopting Islamic State organization (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the Kerman bombings. The Iranian authorities do not pay attention to the statement, and only think about settling scores with the drivers of such terrorist groups,” he said, describing Washington and Tel Aviv as “the most affected by Tehran’s support for the Palestinian resistance factions.”
When referring to the developments in the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle, and the targeting of a number of symbols and forces of the Axis of Resistance in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and the Red Sea, the Iranian researcher said, “The Kerman bombings can only be read in the context of the series of assassinations and military operations in the geography of the Axis of Resistance.”
Hanizadeh believed that “American political leaders had previously revealed their country’s role in forming terrorist groups, led by ISIS,” noting that “the ISIS group not only did not carry out any operations against Zionist-Western interests, but did not even condemn the Israeli aggression against Gaza.”
He concluded that “the security data and information available to his country show tireless efforts made by the United States over the past two years to rehabilitate the ISIS group in the region.”
Duality of response and silence
While Iranian circles agree on the necessity of responding to the parties behind the Kerman bombings, to limit the recurrence of such bloody operations inside the country, a group of Iranians warn of the consequences of involvement in a direct response to American and Israeli interests.
Iranian estimates – during the past three months – have often indicated that Tel Aviv is seeking to lure Tehran into the Gaza battle, to put it facing the United States and NATO, but a second segment of Iranian circles believes that there is no escape from confrontation, and directing painful strikes, to stop the series of assassinations. And targets against Iran and its allies in the region.
In light of the popular uproar demanding revenge for the victims of the Kerman bombings and the official threats of revenge, the two recent bombings have created a “dualism of response and silence” within Iranian circles, between those who hold an approach between direct response and playing according to the Israeli will, and others who believe that silence and waiting will increase popular anger against Iranian authorities.
Possible scenarios
Ali Nejat, a researcher at the Middle East Institute for Strategic Studies, says that his country is forced to take action in retaliation for the victims of the Kerman bombings, and it is convinced that a direct response is not in its interest at the present time.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, he believes that the limits of the Iranian response do not exceed the three scenarios below:
- Direct response by targeting American and Israeli interests in their homes, and this is the weakest possibility.
- Direct response by targeting the interests of the Islamic State group or American or Israeli sites on the territory of other countries, similar to targeting “terrorist” headquarters in Syria or the Iraqi Kurdistan region during the past years. This is an option available to the Iranian authorities to interact with popular demands for revenge.
- Responding through allies is the strongest possibility, through escalation against US interests in Iraq and Syria, or against Israel through Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi group in Yemen.
Al Jazeera Net learned from an informed Iranian source (who requested that his name not be mentioned) that his country decided to adopt a smart policy “avoiding responsibility for what it will do on the one hand, and flexing its muscles to Iranian public opinion on the other hand, by maneuvering against the losses that will befall the enemy front.” He concluded that “the response to the Kerman bombings will be through the soft flank of the Israeli enemy,” without providing further clarifications.
Among the possible scenarios and the decision that this informed source talks about, the majority of Iranian citizens are anticipating what things will turn out after the two recent bombings, while others are betting on the weakness of the collective memory of society, whose economic concerns have preoccupied it from carrying out revenge for the “terrorist” incident that targeted the shrine of the “Shah.” Religious garage in Shiraz last summer.
