Iran claims new bomb planted by Britain

Iran Focus Tehran, Iran, Feb. 20 – Iran said on Monday that Britain was behind a blast that had gone off in the south-western city of Ahwaz on Sunday night which was similar to several recent explosions in the volatile city.

State-run news agencies reported that there were no casualties when the sound bomb went off in Kian Pars district of Ahwaz.

Seyyed Nezzam Mollahoveizeh, the Majlis deputy for Dasht-Abad, told the news agency Fars that the Intelligence Ministry had been able to arrest a number of individuals behind Sunday’s bombing and accused them of having ties to London.

“The mother of all corruption Britain has become an opponent of Iran. Our opponents are supported and empowered in London”, he said.

He called on the Foreign Ministry to expel the British ambassador to Iran.

Mohsen Farrokh-Nejjad, head of politico-security in the province, announced that the explosives used in Sunday’s blast were similar to those used in a spate of bombings in the city earlier this year and in 2005.

Farrokh-Nejjad said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had cancelled his trip for next week to Khuzestan Province, the third time he had done so since his ascendance to the Presidency. Ahwaz, the capital of the Arab-dominated province of Khuzestan, has been the scene of unremitting anti-government protests since the start of 2005. Iran has pointed the finger at Britain as the primary instigator of anti-government violence in Khuzestan.

Separately, the Interior Ministry’s number-two Mohammad-Baqer Zolqadr announced that the identities of those responsible for the recent blasts in Ahwaz would be released in the coming days.

In January, Iran accused British troops in Iraq of being behind a twin bombing in Ahwaz which left at least nine people dead and dozens injured.

A string of top Iranian officials including hard-line President Ahmadinejad have accused Britain of being behind the bombings.

London has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.