Iran-israel tensions rise

NEW DELHI: Israel has blamed Iran for bomb attacks on its diplomats’ cars in India and Georgia, heightening concerns that the country is moving closer to striking its archenemy.

Iran denied responsibility for yesterday’s attacks, which appeared to mirror the recent killings of Iranian nuclear scientists that Tehran blamed on Israel.

The blast in New Delhi set a car ablaze and injured four people, including an Israeli embassy driver and a diplomat’s wife; the device in Georgia was discovered and safely defused.

“Iran is behind these attacks and it is the largest terror exporter in the world,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told MPS from his Likud Party.

The violence added further tension to one of the globe’s most contentious stand-offs. Iran has been accused of developing a nuclear weapons programme that Israel says threatens its existence. Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Comments by Israeli officials in recent weeks have raised fears Israel might be preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

While Israel says it hopes international sanctions can curb Iran’s nuclear programme, leaders pointedly note “all options are on the table” and have warned that as Iran moves closer to weapons capability, time is running out for action.

Fearing an Israeli attack could set off a conflict across the region and send oil prices skyrocketing, US and other Western countries have been pressing Israel to give sanctions more time.

The attackers in India and Georgia appeared to have used “sticky bombs” attached to cars by magnets, similar to weapons used against Iran’s nuclear officials.

Iranian officials Netanyahu’s accusation.

“This accusation is within the Zionist regime’s psychological war against Iran,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying. – Sapa-ap

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