Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Iran Blamed in Bangkok Bombings

At Wall Street Journal, "Botched Thai Bombing Plot Ratchets Up Pressure on Iran":

BANGKOK — An apparently botched bomb plot in the Thai capital put Iranian fingerprints on the latest of a string of attacks that have raised U.S. and Israeli warnings of a heightened threat of terrorism sponsored by Tehran.

Three explosions tore through a bustling Bangkok neighborhood Tuesday, wounding four bystanders and blowing off the legs of a bomber who Thai police said was an Iranian national. A second Iranian passport holder who fled the scene was detained at the city's international airport, Thai police said.

The blasts follow alleged plots in India and Georgia on Monday, and in Azerbaijan and Thailand last month, which Israel has blamed on Iran or its Lebanese militant ally, Hezbollah. Iran denied involvement in Monday's incidents and didn't comment on the Bangkok blasts.

The State Department on Tuesday moved closer than it has this year to pointing the finger at Iran. The attacks "serve as a reminder that a variety of states and nonstate actors continue to view international terrorism as a legitimate foreign policy tool, which we consider reprehensible," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

The accusations come as Iran faces growing international pressure. On Tuesday, senior European and American officials said the European Union was moving as early as this month to ban blacklisted Iranian entities from using a clearing system for international financial transactions, a move that would drastically cut Tehran's ability to access the global financial system.
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And at Telegraph UK, "Thailand finds Iran link between Bangkok and Delhi attacks."

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