Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman have openly accused the Islamic Republic of carrying out assassination attempts against Israeli diplomats and citizens living in other countries.
The accusations stem from a series of attacks that were covered in TIME magazine today, most recently in New Dehli, India and Tblisi, Georgia.
TIME reported that in New Dehli the wife of an Israeli diplomat was targeted by a car bomb that was strapped on by a motorcyclist. The magazine reported that an Indian journalist reportedly saw her, “flung from the vehicle by the force of the blast. The diplomat’s wife was rushed to the hospital, where she is reportedly in critical but stable condition.”
In Tblisi, Georgia another car bomb was found attached to a car parked at the Israeli embassy, but it was discovered and defused.
Israel is convinced the attacks are retaliation since Iran has publicly accused the Jewish homeland of being behind at least four similar attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists in Tehran.
An intense cold war has been mounting between Israel and Iran for the past year in the midst of reports that Israel may launch a preemptive military strike on Iran’s developing nuclear facilities.
Both the United States and Israel have openly accused Iran of violating the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty and developing a nuclear program for military purposes, a claim that Iran has adamantly denied.
A November 2011 report however published by the International Atomic Energy Agency, known widely as the United Nation’s nuclear monitor said that Iran was developing a nuclear warhead at one time, but that they could not determine if that particular program was still in effect.
Israel has openly accused Iran of being behind the assassination attempts.
“Iran is behind these attacks, and it is the largest terror exporter in the world,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told members of the Likud party on Monday afternoon.
He added, “In recent months we have witnessed several attempts to attack Israeli citizens and Jews in several countries, including Azerbaijan, Thailand and others. In each instance we succeeded in foiling the attacks in cooperation with local authorities. Iran and its proxy Hizbullah were behind all of these attempted attacks.”
Various experts were quoted in today’s Miami Herald confirming that they believe the attacks were most likely perpetuated by Iran.
The Herald quoted Dennis Ross, a former Obama administration envoy to the Middle Easy who told McClatchy Newspapers in Washington that, “When it comes to Iranian acts of terror against the Israelis, this is not new. We knew this when I was negotiating.”
Mike Herzog, a retired Israeli general and a former top aide to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak pointed out that the assassination attempts came a day after the anniversary of the 2008 assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah official.
“There have been all kinds of mysterious things happening in Iran, and it could be an Iranian counterattack,” he explained. “It’s no secret that Iran uses Hezbollah globally, and Hezbollah has the capacity to carry out attacks around the globe.”
On the site for the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs comments from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman commented on the danger Israeli diplomats as continue to face in other countries and the threats Israeli citizens face living within their own borders.
“Israeli diplomats are on the front lines. Israel knows how to identify those who are responsible for the blast. It just shows that Israel and its citizens face terror inside and outside of Israel. We deal with it every day. We know how to identify exactly who is responsible for the attack and who carried it out. We will not allow this to affect our agenda.”
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