Iran blames Israel for Hamas man's death

Teheran says killing shows “existence of state terrorism by the Zionist regime.”

Mabhouh (photo credit: Associated Press)
Mabhouh
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Iran on Tuesday pointed its finger squarely at Israel for the killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last month.
"This is another indication of the existence of state terrorism by the Zionist regime (Israel)," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference, according to a Reuters translation. "This shows the violation of other countries' sovereignty by this regime."
It comes a day after Dubai police chief Dhahi Khalfan said he could not rule out the involvement of the Mossad in Mabhouh’s death.
Mabhouh, one of the founders of Hamas’s military wing, Izzadin Kassam, was found dead in a hotel room on January 20, a day after entering Dubai. The Dubai government said in a statement that initial investigations showed the crime was likely committed by a “professional criminal gang” and that the suspects left the country before the body was discovered.
In Israel, meanwhile, officials said Sunday that Mabhouh played a central role in smuggling weapons from Iran to Gaza, but they refused to say whether Israel was responsible for killing the man it had sought for two decades.