TEHRAN – Tehran has said that it holds the Zionist regime and its mercenaries responsible for the explosions that took place near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut on Tuesday, in which at least 23 people were killed.
It was an inhuman action carried out by the Zionists and their agents,Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Marzieh Afkham said in a statement, noting that Iran will seriously investigate the incident.
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Iran Embassy Attack in Beirut Comes 30 Years After Deadly Bombings Against US Targets There, Blamed on Hezbollah and Iran -
(CNSNews.com) – Tuesday’s massive suicide bombing outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut comes 30 years after the American Embassy in the same city was bombed by terrorists linked to Iran, in what was at the time the deadliest such attack ever against a U.S. diplomatic mission.
Iran reflexively blamed Israel for the twin bombing of its embassy, but it was an al-Qaeda affiliate that claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest and most significant sign of the spreading sectarianism fueled by Syria’s civil war.
At least 23 people were reported to have been killed. According to Iranian state media, they include Iran’s cultural attache, the head of the embassy’s security team and five security guards.
The embassy is in southern Beirut’s stronghold of Hezbollah, Iran’s Shi’ite ally. Hezbollah members reportedly serve as guards at the mission, although there was no early indication whether any were among the dead.
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At least 146 people were injured in the blasts.
Early reports said that Iran’s cultural attache, Ebrahim Ansari, who was on his way to work at the diplomatic compound when the bombs exploded, had been killed.
Speaking to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV from inside the embassy compound, Iranian Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi confirmed the report, saying that Ansari took his post in Lebanon a month ago.
However, Afkham told the Fars News Agency that Ansari was only critically injured and had vital signs.
According to Reuters, a Lebanese-based al Qaeda-linked group known as the Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for what it described as a double suicide attack on the Iranian mission in southern Beirut.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the group demanded the release of prisoners from Lebanese jails and the withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria.
Security camera footage showed a man in an explosives belt rushing toward the outer wall of the embassy before blowing himself up, Lebanese officials said, Reuters reported. They said that the second explosion was caused by a car bomb parked two buildings away from the embassy compound.
Fires engulfed cars and facades of some buildings were torn off and carpets of shattered glass from nearby buildings covered the bloodied streets but the embassy's well-fortified building itself suffered relatively minor damage. Trees in the area were uprooted by the force of the blasts.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the explosions took place in the Jnah district, where the Iranian Embassy is situated, along with several Iranian media outlets. Initial reports indicated that the embassy was the likely target. One report said that the car bomb went off about 10 yards from the embassy building.
The Fars News Agency quoted sources at the Iranian Embassy as saying that the embassy itself was not the target and the attack happened near it.
The area near the embassy is heavily guarded, and the explosions would appear to indicate a major security breach.
Analysts immediately linked the blasts to the war raging in neighboring Syria, which has deeply divided Lebanon along sectarian lines, between supporters and opponents of the government of Assad.
UN official Derek Plumbly condemned the suicide attack in Beirut, saying such an incident underlined the importance for all Lebanese parties and the international community to support security in the country, the Daily Star reported.
“I would like to underline here the condemnation of the United Nations of this terrorist attack and to extend our sympathies and condolences to all those who have been affected by it and to affirm our support to the authorities as they deal with the situation,” he said.
“And finally, to emphasize the need for restraint as the authorities try to find those who are responsible for this criminal act and to bring them to justice,” he added.
According to the Daily Star, British Foreign Secretary William Hague also condemned what he described as ‘shocking terrorist attacks on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut,’ saying his country was strongly committed to supporting stability in Lebanon.
“The UK is strongly committed to supporting stability in Lebanon and seeing those responsible for this attack brought to justice,” he added.
France also condemned in the strongest terms the bloody attack near the Iranian Embassy, expressing its deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
It also voiced solidarity with the Lebanese and Iranian authorities, according to a statement posted on the presidency’s website.
And Paris reiterated its support for the Lebanese government to preserve national unity.
Syria also deplored the attack. Tehran Times
EP/PA
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