'Zionist links to Amman blasts'

2005-11-13 16:13

Tehran - Iran said on Sunday it suspected Israel was behind the suicide attacks in Amman, even though Jordanian officials have blamed the bombings on militants linked to Iraq-based al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

"The explosions in Jordan are a suspicious matter.

Most probably the Zionist regime (Israel) was behind them," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

"It was a bitter incident. We condemned it and our foreign minister (Manouchehr Mottaki) has phoned his Jordanian counterpart (Faruq al-Kasrawi), to sympathise with the families of the victims and condemn the terrorist acts," he added.

The attacks on three luxury hotels on Wednesday killed 57 people and wounded about 100 more.

Iran does not recognise Israel and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caused an international outcry in October when he called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map".

- AFP