India believes Iran is behind the explosion outside of the Israeli embassy in New Delhi in late January, according to a report in an Indian English-language daily newspaper on Sunday.
On January 29, a "low density" bomb exploded in front of the embassy, causing damage to several vehicles but not wounding anyone. The explosion occurred on the 29th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and New Delhi, raising suspicions.
The Hindustan Times reported the investigation by India’s counterterrorism agencies concluded the attack was engineered by the Islamic State's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and carried out by a local Shi'ite cell, with the explosive device detonated by remote control.
According to Indian security officials, the blast was carried out in revenge for the death of several Iranian officials in alleged Israeli and U.S. operations over the past year.
Indian investigators found a letter addressed to Israel's Ambassador to India Ron Malka, who the note labeled a "terrorist in a terrorist nation," threatening revenge for the U.S. killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and alleged Israeli assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh November 2020.
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Indian soldiers near the Israeli embassy in Delhi following the explosion
(Photo: EPA)
According to the report, quoting sources familiar with the investigation, the terrorists left "evidence" apparently pointing to Islamic State's involvement in the incident in order to confuse officials.
"The fact that the bomb was not of high intensity, with no human targets in mind, was perhaps because the Iranians did not want to run afoul of a friendly nation like India. But the message was clear and the threat is real," an unnamed expert told the outlet.
The paper also said that Indian investigators were aided in the probe by Mossad officials.
I24NEWS contributed to this report