Iran rejects Israeli accusations over Bulgaria bus blast

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran rejected Israeli claims of Tehran's involvement in Wednesday’s bus blast in Bulgaria which killed six Israelis, Iran's Al-Alam TV channel reported on Thursday, July 19, quoting Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying.

Mehmanparast “slammed the Bulgarian terrorist attack and accused Israel of plotting political scenarios that result in human losses,” RIA Novisti said citing Al-Alam TV channel.

The Foreign Ministry statement comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the blast as "an Iranian terror attack" and promised to retaliate with tough measures.

Netanyahu’s comment was echoed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who said the explosion was “an obvious terrorist attack, possibly carried out by Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad or another terrorist group from Iran or radical Islamic forces.”

Trita Parsi, head of the Washington-based National Iranian-American Council told Al Jazeera on Thursday Tel Aviv had not produced any evidence proving Iranian involvement in the attack.

"Only a half hour after the actual incident, Netanyahu went out and accused the Iranians," Parsi told Al Jazeera, adding 30 minutes were not enough to gather substantial evidence.

The bomb exploded in a bus with 40 Israeli tourists at a parking lot of the airport in the resort town of Burgas. According to the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, eight people, including six Israeli tourists, a bus driver and the bomber were killed and 32 wounded.