U.S. Warned Iran of ISIS-K Threat Before Deadly Kerman Bombings

According to The Wall Street Journal, in a rare instance of cooperation, U.S. officials conveyed to Iran crucial intelligence about a potential terror threat from ISIS-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, ahead of the catastrophic suicide bombings on January 3, 2024, in Kerman, Iran. Despite the U.S. alert, Iranian forces were unable to thwart the attack, which claimed over 80 lives.

The confidential intelligence shared suggested a high likelihood of an ISIS-K assault in Iran, offering specific details regarding the potential location and timing. This information was intended to assist Iran in either averting or lessening the impact of the terror strike.

The attack occurred during the commemoration of the death anniversary of Qassem Soleimani, a key commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds force, and targeted a crowded event in Kerman. Soleimani had been killed in a U.S.-orchestrated drone strike in 2020.

Adhering to a ‘duty to warn’ policy, the U.S. alerts governments, including adversaries, about immediate lethal threats to prevent the loss of innocent lives. This approach has been consistent across different U.S. administrations.

However, the response from Iranian officials to the U.S. warning was not publicly acknowledged, and the reasons behind their inability to prevent or mitigate the attack remain uncertain. This incident is among the most lethal in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Following the attack, ISIS took responsibility, underscoring its ideological enmity with Iran’s Shia Muslim majority. ISIS-K, which surfaced in Afghanistan in 2015, has been implicated in numerous major attacks, including the 2021 Kabul airport bombing.

This instance of intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Iran, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, is notable given the historically tense relations between the two nations. It brings to mind a similar situation in 2019 when the U.S. provided Russia with intelligence that helped thwart a terror plot in St. Petersburg.

GAROWE ONLINE