ISIS claims responsibility for bomb blasts in Iran
People walk on the street towards the grave of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani as a mosque is seen in background in the city of Kerman about 510 miles southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.
Many suspected that Israel was behind the attack that killed at least 84 people in southern Iran on Wednesday. But today, ISIS said two of its members detonated the powerful bombs that came on the death anniversary of Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani, who fiercely opposed ISIS. And, pandemic closures made visa processing delays much longer than usual. Now consulates are staffed up again, but substantial delays remain because of large numbers of visa applicants. Also, North Korea has shuttered its diplomatic missions in Hong Kong, Spain, Bangladesh and six other places in recent months, with experts watching for more closures in 2024. Pyongyang vaguely explains this as a reaction to “changing global environments,” but signs indicate a dialing back of old-school revenue sources. Plus, this Libyan pop star wants to go global.
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