BURGAS, Bulgaria (AP) — He looked like any other impatient tourist checking the big board at airport arrivals: a lanky, long-haired man in baseball cap with his hands in the pockets of his plaid Bermuda shorts.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the accusation "baseless," saying it was aimed at diverting world attention from Israel's role in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.
Israel has attributed a series of attacks on its citizens around the world in recent months to Iran and its Shiite proxies, threatening to escalate a shadow war between the two arch-enemies that has escalated over Israeli allegations that the Iranians are trying to build nuclear weapons.
The attack occurred shortly after the Israelis boarded a bus outside the airport in the Black Sea resort town of Burgas, a popular destination for Israeli tourists — particularly for high school graduates before they are drafted into military service.
A Bulgarian government plane was to fly home 100 other Israelis who were not wounded, but who want to cut short their vacation.
Since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, relations with Israel resembled a cold war with both sides warily watching each other and dealing blows through proxies, but with little direct conflict.
In April, computer malware known as Flame infiltrated key government networks in Iran and forced a temporary shutdown of Internet links at the Oil Ministry and a key oil shipment facility.
[...] Israeli leaders have repeatedly said that "all options are on the table" in trying to disrupt Iran's nuclear program — a phrase that is widely interpreted as meaning the possibility of a military strike and other measures that could include cyberwarfare.
Since the fall of communism, Israel has maintained friendly ties with Bulgaria, a European Union nation of 7.3 million that borders Greece and Turkey.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the accusation "baseless," saying it was aimed at diverting world attention from Israel's role in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.
Israel has attributed a series of attacks on its citizens around the world in recent months to Iran and its Shiite proxies, threatening to escalate a shadow war between the two arch-enemies that has escalated over Israeli allegations that the Iranians are trying to build nuclear weapons.
The attack occurred shortly after the Israelis boarded a bus outside the airport in the Black Sea resort town of Burgas, a popular destination for Israeli tourists — particularly for high school graduates before they are drafted into military service.
A Bulgarian government plane was to fly home 100 other Israelis who were not wounded, but who want to cut short their vacation.
Since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, relations with Israel resembled a cold war with both sides warily watching each other and dealing blows through proxies, but with little direct conflict.
In April, computer malware known as Flame infiltrated key government networks in Iran and forced a temporary shutdown of Internet links at the Oil Ministry and a key oil shipment facility.
[...] Israeli leaders have repeatedly said that "all options are on the table" in trying to disrupt Iran's nuclear program — a phrase that is widely interpreted as meaning the possibility of a military strike and other measures that could include cyberwarfare.
Since the fall of communism, Israel has maintained friendly ties with Bulgaria, a European Union nation of 7.3 million that borders Greece and Turkey.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sfgate.com |
