Iran stands accused by the West of playing a key role in unrest plaguing the Middle East, but twin bombings claimed by the militant Islamic State group are a keen reminder of its own internal weaknesses, AFP quotes analysts as saying.

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 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. But while Iran has become “an important regional power with an enormous ability to do harm, it is internally fragile”, he added.

Wednesday’s attack claimed by the militant IS 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.”