US President Donald Trump’s claim that the slain Iranian military commander and intelligence chief Major General Qassem Soleimani was responsible for terror plots in New delhi has cornered india that shares a delicate relationship with Iran. The US on thursday killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Soleimani and other top military leaders in an airstrike in Baghdad.
Even though President trump did not give any specifics on friday about the IRGC terror plots in delhi, many in official circles here believe that he was alluding to the 2012 bombing of the car of the wife of the Israeli defence attache in New Delhi. israel had blamed iran for the attack, which was seen as retaliation for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi roshan by the Mossad in a similarly executed attack.
An indian journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, who was arrested and later released on bail, was accused of having carried out the reconnaissance for the Quds Force, Iran’s external intelligence agency headed by Soleimani. While the US is India’s most important ally and israel remains a strategic partner on many core issues, iran enjoys significance given its geographical location, religious demographics and its overall sympathetic view of India.
