ISIS-K claims the deadly attack in Iran

Plus: Trump wants to be back on Colorado's ballot.   Thursday, January 4, 2024 Good afternoon! This is Ellen Ioanes — I’m usually on the world and weekend teams, but I’m happy to get back to my Vox roots and put together some newsletters for all of you this month. My colleagues Li Zhou and Nicole Narea are also writing Sentences this month, so be on the lookout for their editions. Here’s the agenda today: UP FIRST: An ISIS-K blast in Iran kills dozens CATCH UP: Donald Trump fights to stay on the ballot —Ellen Ioanes, reporter   UP FIRST Nearly 100 killed during IRGC commander’s commemoration [Men and boys mill about those wounded by the blast; in the center of the image, a man in a white and blue vest raises his arm, as if calling for help.] Mahdi/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images The [Islamic State — Khorasan Province]( (ISIS-K or ISKP) took responsibility on Thursday for two explosions near the gravesite of former Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani that killed at least 84 mourners on Wednesday. The explosions happened on the fourth anniversary of the leader’s assassination by the US and initially sparked concern among some foreign affairs experts that the war in Gaza between Israel and [Hamas](, which has Iranian backing, [might be spreading](. Israel has assassinated Iranians in the past, mostly people associated with its nuclear program, and recently senior figures in Hamas and [Hezbollah](, leading some Iranian officials to suggest the Israeli government was behind the bombings. However, the large-scale attack better fits the pattern of ISIS and its subgroups like ISIS-K, an offshoot of ISIS that operates in areas of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. ISIS-K is a Sunni Muslim supremacist group that perpetrates terror attacks against other traditions that don’t fit its strict interpretation of Islam. Though ISIS’s infrastructure and ability to control land in Iraq and Syria were largely eliminated by 2017, its affiliates in the Arabian Peninsula, parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Khorasan still exist. In Afghanistan, ISIS-K [has attacked Shia minorities](, killing hundreds of people over the past two years. A series of [large, deadly attacks]( — apparently in protest of democracy — rocked Pakistan over the last year. Though ISIS was ultimately responsible for the attack in Iran, [fears that the Israel-Hamas conflict may spread remain](. The big takeaway, however, is this: Wednesday’s attack doesn’t really show that ISIS is “back” because, when you look at the evidence, it never really went away.   CATCH UP Trump takes his ballot battle to the Supreme Court [Trump, in a dark navy suit, white shirt, and red tie, wears a neutral expression as he sits in front of dark blue curtains, and appears to be lit by a spotlight. ] Scott Olson/Getty Images Donald Trump — Republican presidential primary frontrunner, former president, and the subject of multiple criminal cases — has[asked the Supreme Court to intervene]( in his fight to stay on the ballot in Colorado. After Maine’s secretary of state and Colorado’s Supreme Court decided to remove Trump from the ballot from their respective states due to his role in the January 6, 2021, uprising, Colorado’s Republican Party and Trump himself appealed the case to the Supreme Court, as [Vox’s Ian Millhiser explained Wednesday](. Here’s what you need to know: - That case, Ian explains, “turns on a previously obscure provision of the 14th Amendment, which provides that anyone who previously held a high office requiring them to swear an oath supporting the Constitution is forbidden from holding a similar office if they ‘have engaged in insurrection or rebellion’ against that Constitution.” - Given Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled shortly before Christmas that Trump took part in an insurrection and therefore was ineligible to run for the presidency. - Trump is already [appealing the Maine decision]( at the state level and now wants the Supreme Court to quickly decide whether he can be on Colorado’s ballot. Read Ian’s full story on the Colorado Supreme Court case[here](.   VERBATIM 🗣️ “I cannot represent an administration that does not value all human life equally. I cannot stay silent as this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian lives, in what leading human rights experts have called a genocidal campaign by the Israeli government.” — Tariq Abash, now a former employee at the US Department of Education, in his resignation letter Wednesday [[Washington Post](]   AROUND THE WEB - Russian President Vladimir Putin is extending Russian citizenship to foreigners who join his country’s war in Ukraine. [[Reuters](] - A Houthi vessel exploded near US Navy and commercial ships in the Red Sea Thursday, potentially escalating the maritime conflict between the Iran-allied Houthis and the US and its security partners. [[AP](] - The US is facing a Covid-19 surge, with JN-1 now the most dominant strain. This one may be better at infecting people who’ve already had Covid or who have been vaccinated, and the surge could be as bad as last winter’s. [[Washington Post](]    [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   MORE READS FROM VOX [You thought 2023 was a big year for AI? Buckle up.]( [Pregnancy care deserts are growing. Indigenous babies are at risk.]( [There’s more than one way to feel lonely]( [You don’t need everything you want]( [Relationships aren’t always going to be totally balanced. That isn’t a bad thing.](   ONE LAST THING Enjoying the Sentences newsletter? Forward it to a friend; they can [sign up for it right here](. As always, we want to know what you think. We recently changed the format of this newsletter. Any questions, comments, or ideas? Write us at newsletter@vox.com or just reply to this email.    [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.