Israeli Embassy blast: 'Strongly repudiate' unsubstantiated allegations, says Iran over claims of its involvement

New Delhi: Weeks after a blast near the Israeli Embassy in Delhi, Iran on Monday termed as “unsubstantiated” the allegations of its involvement in the terror attack and called such charges steps towards realising the “sinister intentions” of the enemies of Iran-India ties. The assertion by the Iranian Embassy came after a media report claimed that there was Iranian hand in the terror plot but that the bomb was planted by a local Indian Shia module. Referring to the “suspicious blast” in New Delhi on 29 January, the Iranian Embassy, in a statement, said it “deliberately led to an unfair onslaught and unsubstantiated defamatory accusations against Iran”. The embassy strongly condemned any act which ensues intimidation and fear, disruption of order and security, and jeopardising the lives and property of innocent people. “While respecting the government and authorities of India in their endeavour to thoroughly investigate and probe into the above mentioned incident in order to identify the orchestrators of such actions and to bring them to justice, this embassy strongly repudiates any unsubstantiated allegations or irresponsible comments in this regard and considers them as steps towards realising the sinister intentions of the enemies of Iran-India relations,” the statement said. The embassy said Iranian authorities have always expressed their readiness to cooperate with the Indian friends in order to unravel “the wicked intentions of the spoilers of bilateral relations”. “In the current juncture in which the long-standing and cordial relations between Iran and India is further being boosted and developed in all domains, including in the form of exchange of the two countries’ high rankings political, economic, security and defense delegations, this question deems serious attention whether the said suspicious blast has any benefit for bilateral relations or who would indeed gain from this action?” it said. Is the presumption that this act must have been conducted by third parties who are angry and dissatisfied with the progress in relations between the governments of Iran and India, the Iranian embassy asked. “The culture, civilization, history and also the national and religious beliefs of the government and people of Iran would never allow conduct of any actions which are inhumane, terrorist, barbaric and in contravention with human and divine values and which are done in order to cause fear and destruction to the lives of innocent people and even animals and plants,” the statement said. “The government and people of Iran, as flag bearers of peace and security in the world”, have been on the forefront of fighting against terrorism, war-mongering and violence globally and have been themselves victim to terrorism waged by some “terrorist governments and their agents”, the embassy said. The Iranian government and the nation have never started a war, however, they are courageous defenders who have always made aggressors, warmongers, terrorists and their supporters remorseful by following the principle of legitimate defense, it said. “We expect all the media and commentators not to fall into the traps and thereby unknowingly enforce the scenarios conspired by third parties whose intention and interest is nothing but to deteriorate the growing IranIndia relations,” the statement said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) last month began its probe into a blast near the Israeli Embassy. Some cars were damaged in the explosion that occurred about 150 metres away from the embassy on the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road in the very high-security bungalow zone. The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was fabricated with cocktail of ammonium nitrate-fuel oil having cycle ball bearings as shrapnel. A letter was also received by the embassy which was shared with the police and now is part of the NIA investigation.