UNITED NATIONS — Iran called Israeli allegations that it was responsible for last week’s suicide bombing of a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria “baseless” Wednesday and accused Israel of carrying out a terrorist operation.
Israel’s deputy U.N. ambassador Haim Waxman called the allegation by Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee “appalling but not surprising” since it came from the same government that says the 9/11 attack was a conspiracy theory and denies the Holocaust.
Israel accuses Iran of developing atomic weapons and has repeatedly hinted it is prepared to strike Iranian nuclear targets if Tehran does not curb its suspect program. Iran denies it is trying to develop nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is designed to produce nuclear energy.
Waxman raised the issue of the Bulgarian bombing during a U.N. Security Council debate on the Mideast, accusing Iran and Hezbollah of responsibility for the bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver. He also blamed Iran and Hezbollah for terrorist attacks and attempted attacks in recent months in India, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Kenya, Turkey and Cyprus that targeted Israelis.
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said Tuesday that a sophisticated group of conspirators was involved in the bombing. He did not give any numbers or nationalities of those believed to be responsible but described them as “exceptionally skilled” and said they “observed absolute secrecy.”
Front Section, Pages 8 on 07/26/2012