Iran has denied responsibility for the terrorist attack on Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian city of Burgas on Wednesday.
Five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver were killed when a suicide bomber blew up one of three tour buses at the airport. A second tour bus was badly damaged.
Israel placed responsibility for the attack squarely on Tehran, noting that Iran has generously funded the Hizbullah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, all of which are dedicated to destroying the Jewish State.
"The unfounded statements by different statement of the Zionist regime in connection with the accusations against Iran about its possible participation in the incident with the blown-up bus with Israeli tourists in Burgas is a familiar method of the Zionist regime, with a political aim, and is a sign of the weakness … of the accusers,” said Iran through a statement issued by its mission in Sofa.
Meanwhile, Israel has vowed to retaliate, with the country's leadership showing clear unity about who was responsible for the attack, and how the Jewish State should respond.
"We were witnesses to a deadly terror attack coming out of Iran,” said President Shimon Peres. “We know there were other attempts, and this time they succeeded. [Israel] has the means and the determination to silence and neutralize terror organizations,” he declared.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday in a statement, “All the signs lead to Iran. Only in the past few months have we seen Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other places.
"This is an Iranian terror campaign that is spreading throughout the world. Israel will react powerfully against Iranian terror,” Netanyahu vowed.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman both echoed the prime minister's remarks, commenting that it had been the Hizbullah terrorist organization, a protege of Iran, that was responsible for the attack in Burgas – under the auspices of Iran.
In addition to the dead, 35 others were wounded, including three in critical condition who were flown to a hospital in Sofia. The rest were flown home by Israeli Air Force pilots in a Hercules military transport aircraft on Thursday.
A second aircraft will return for the remaining tourists at a later time, Israeli officials said.