The Iranian embassy in Bulgaria has denied Israeli allegations that Iran was involved in the bombing of Israeli tourists in Burgas.
Reuters cites a statement from the Iranian embassy in Bulgaria that calls the Israeli accusations “a familiar method of the Zionist regime, with a political aim, and are a sign of the weakness … of the accusers.”
On Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew himself up on a tourist bus at the Burgas airport, killing the Bulgarian driver and five Israeli travellers.
The bomber has not been identified yet, although Bulgarian authorities are trying to do so using DNA samples taken from his remains.
Since the bombing, Israeli officials have repeatedly blamed the Islamic Republic and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, while making overtures about retaliation.
However, despite earlier statements by Israeli President Shimon Peres that Israel would “take action in every terror nest, worldwide,” today brought a more restrained tone from Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who said his country would “do everything possible in order to find those responsible and those who dispatched them, and punish them.”
Reuters interpreted the Israeli Defence Minister’s statements as indicative of possible “covert action against individuals.”
Uzi Arad, the national security advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been quoted as saying the situation requires “risk management” and Wednesday’s fatalities may be the “unavoidable price” for the buildup of internal and international pressure on Iran and its allies.
