Iran Blames Pipeline Explosion on Western Enemies

TEHRAN — A member of the Iranian parliament has blamed Western “enemies” for a blast on Friday that hit a major gas pipeline near the holy city of Qom.

The head of the parliament’s national security committee, Parviz Sorouri told reporters on Sunday that Western-backed “terrorists” were aiming to bring insecurity to Iran’s national energy transfer routes.

“By issuing resolutions and organizing terrorist activities, Western countries are aiming to redirect the events in Bahrain and Libya toward Iran,” Sorouri said.

Iranian officials continue to investigate the exact cause of the explosion, which struck a 56-inch diameter gas line near Qom early on Friday morning. No one was hurt in the blast.

The apparent bomb attack was the second incident in two months. Earlier, simultaneous explosions hit three different points on a gas pipeline within about 60 miles of the location of Friday’s blast.

The assertions of foreign interference came at a time when Iran is under increasing pressure from Persian Gulf states that accuse Iran of playing a role in the continuing unrest in Bahrain and after fresh accusations about the country’s nuclear program from an external opposition group.

Also on Sunday, Iran expelled three Kuwaiti diplomats in retaliation for Kuwait’s expulsion of three Iranian officials earlier this month, according to the Web site of Press TV, Iran’s state-financed satellite channel. The Kuwaiti government had accused the Iranians of spying on United States military bases.

Over the past week, top Iranian religious leaders have expressed anger over the involvement of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in a combined regional military force to quell a civilian uprising in Bahrain, a Shiite majority state with which Iran has long historical and religious ties.

Fears over the development of Iran’s nuclear program were rekindled last Thursday, following a report from an exiled Iranian opposition group that said it revealed the location of a “secret” centrifuge factory 80 miles west of Iran’s capital, Tehran.

The National Council for Resistance in Iran — a lobby group associated with the banned leftist terrorist organization the People’s Mujahadeen — released what is said were satellite photographs of a facility that has produced parts for 100,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges over the past four years, though the group offered no further evidence.

Source: NYTimes.com