Iran Denies Involvement in 1996 Saudi BombingIranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on Friday in Tehran rejected as "baseless" an indictment by the U.S. judiciary that certain Iranian government officials were behind the 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia."The U.S. judiciary has leveled charges against Iran that have no legal and judicial bases," Asefi was quoted by Iran's official IRNA news agency as saying. Nineteen U.S. servicemen were killed and over 370 injured in the 1996 truck-bomb attack on the Khobar Towers military complex housing U.S. troops in the northeastern Saudi city of Dhahran. The U.S. has indicted 14 people in connection with the bombing, saying certain Iranian officials had supervised the Saudi Hezbollah (or holy war) members as they monitored the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia looking for suitable targets. The indictment has named 13 Saudi citizens, all said to be members of Saudi Hezbollah, an organization whose members are drawn from the country's Shiite Muslim community and is outlawed by the Saudi government. A Lebanese national, who has not been identified, was also cited in the indictment. The Iranian spokesman said that the charges show the continued efforts made by the U.S. to exert pressure on Iran, noting the U.S. is under the Zionist lobby and influence. Asefi said that Iran itself has been a victim of terrorism over the past two decades, adding the country "has always been against the terrorism in any form." |
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