Iranian Retaliation? Maybe

Iran was behind a car bomb attack on Israeli officials in New Delhi as well as a thwarted attack in Georgian capital Tbilisi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu squarely blamed Iran for the two apparently coordinated car bomb attacks against Israeli embassies in India and Georgia today.

Calling Iran “the world’s top initiator of terror,” Netanyahu said that over the past few months “we have seen attempts to hurt Israelis in Azerbaijan and in Thailand. All of these incidents were stopped with the help of local authorities.”

Israeli embassy in Tbilisi

Netanyahu said Israel will not cease its fight against international terror, of which Iran was the "world's greatest exporter.

A car belonging to the Israeli embassy was gutted after an explosion Monday afternoon in a high-security zone in the Indian capital. Four people, including the wife of an Israeli diplomat, were injured,and an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi was foiled when an employee discovered a car fitted with an explosive device near the diplomatic mission. 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Netanyahu said that in each of the recent attempts “Iran and its proxy Hezbollah was behind the attacks.” Israel, he added, “will continue to work with local security forces to stop attacks and will act with a strong hand” and systematically fight international terror, “which comes from Iran.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman took it a step further, warning that Israel knows exactly how to identify those responsible for the attacks.

Also today, a Georgian worker employed by the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi alerted police after noticing a suspicious object attached to a car assigned to the Israeli envoy to the country. The object turned out to be a grenade-like explosive device, according to Israeli officials.

Imad Mughniyah

Today’s attempts come one day after the fourth anniversary of the targeted elimination of Hezbollah’s deputy leader and terror mastermind, Imad Mughniyah, which the Islamist organization blames on Israel.

Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan 

Israeli officials say that Hezbollah takes orders directly from Iran. Any Hezbollah attack on an Israeli target would need to be ordered by Tehran, the officials say.

Today’s attacks follow the assassination of several nuclear scientists in Iran. Tehran has blamed Israel and the U.S. for those assassinations.

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