Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Sunday that it believes Britain to be the most likely suspect behind Saturday’s bombing in Iran which killed five and wounded more than one hundred.
"We are very suspicious about the role of British forces in perpetrating such terrorist acts," Ahmadinejad told reporters of ISNA. He added that he viewed the presence of British troops along the Iran-Iraq border as the main reason behind unrest there.
Britain is suspected by some in Iran to be behind other such incidents in Khuzestan earlier this year, though Britain has officially denied any involvement in the bombings.
“We reject these allegations," a statement of the British embassy in Tehran said. “Any linkage between the British government and these terrorist outrages is without foundation," it added.
The bombing, which occurred in the southern Iranian town of Ahvaz, is thought to be caused by the detonation of two handmade bombs planted in garbage bins, according to The Times of India. Oil-rich Ahvaz is located near the Iraqi border, where British troops are stationed.
Some, including General Mohammad Hejazi, commander of the Islamic militant group of Basij, implied that Britain was attempting to cast an exaggerated image of unrest in the Iran.
Britain has accused Iran of leaving its borders open to fighters en route to Iraq where British troops are targeted regularly. British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Iran not to interfere in the Iraqi conflict.
Iran has also been accused by Britain of supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Britain has over 8,000 troops in southern Iraq presently. Relations between Iran and Britain have been severely strained in recent months over Iran’s nuclear program.
