Iran 'has proof' of British role in bombings

[Guest guest]

Iran 'has proof' of British role in bombings Thu Oct 20, 2:08 PM ET

 

 

 

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran said it has proof that Britain was involved in a

double bomb attack last week that killed six people and injured more

than 100 in the restive southwestern city of Ahvaz.

 

 

The British embassy in Tehran immediately rejected the allegations,

which came amid mounting tensions between Tehran and London over

suspected Iranian meddling in Iraq and the Islamic republic's nuclear

programme.

 

"Information obtained by the concerned organs show that Britain is the

main accused in the recent events," Foreign Minister Manouchehr

Mottaki told state television.

 

"The information shows that Britain is seeking to create insecurity in our

country by interfering in our internal affairs," he added, warning that the

consequences "could be worrying for the British."

 

Britain said the allegations were baseless.

 

"We reiterate our total rejection of these accusations as well as our

condemnation of these terrorist attacks," a senior british diplomat told

AFP.

 

"We have made it clear to the Iranian authorities that the British

government and British forces in Iraq stand ready to assist in preventing

attacks of this kind."

 

The bomb attacks Saturday killed six people and injured more than 100

in Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province, and on Tuesday

police said they had defused a large bomb planted under a bridge in the

city.

 

Several Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,

have already said that Britain was a suspect -- but had generally

stopped short of claiming they possessed evidence directly implicating

Britain.

 

Ahvaz, dominated by ethnic minority Arabs, has been hit by a wave of

unrest this year, including riots in April and a series of car bombings

prior to Iran's presidential election in June.

 

After these incidents, the finger was also pointed at Britain, which has

troops based just across the border in Iraq.

 

The Iranian allegations against Britain come in the wake of similar

allegations made by Britain concerning Iran's alleged interference in Iraq.

 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other senior officials have said

there is evidence of an Iranian connection to a series of deadly attacks

on British troops in southern Iraq.

 

Britain is also playing a leading role in efforts to force Iran to limit its

nuclear fuel activities, seen by the West as a cover for weapons

development.

 

Last month the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency warned Iran

it faced being hauled before the UN Security Council if it persisted with

its uranium enrichment activities in violation of an agreement with

Britain, France and Germany.

 

Iran has said it is willing to resume talks with the EU-3, but has refused

to return to a full freeze of enrichment-related work -- the source of

widespread concerns that Iran could acquire atomic arms.

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