Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, has said the failure to prevent last week’s bloody terror attack “brought shame upon us in front of the Supreme Leader.”

A twin bombing in the city of Kerman on January 3 killed around 90 people and injured hundreds who were attending the fourth anniversary of former IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani’s death in a US airstrike in Baghdad.

The Islamic State group in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the large terror attack, putting Iranian officials on the defensive regarding their intelligence and security failure.

In a speech on Thursday, Khatib praised alleged successes by officials to thwart security threats but admitted that in this case their efforts were not sufficient.

"We witnessed this heartbreaking tragedy and this sedition and enemy conspiracy, which brought shame upon us in front of the Supreme Leader, the people, and the families of the martyrs,” the intelligence minister stated.

The Iranian regime frequently boasts about its ability to maintain public security and its strength in deterring threats from hostile foreign forces. Nevertheless, a series of unexplained incidents in recent years, including sabotage at sensitive sites and assassinations, have cast doubt on this self-portrayal.

Critics mocked security and intelligence organs for their failure to prevent the bombings, especially after they claimed that many similar plans were discovered in the weeks leading up to the Kerman incident. Others charged that the regime’s security forces pursue women and young girls in the streets to enforce hijab, while failing in their main duty to protect the public.