War with Iran about to start?

[American Patriot]

Israeli prime minister blames Iran for Bulgaria bomb








JERUSALEM, July 18 | Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:39pm IST




(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday blamed Iran for a bomb blast which killed at least three people in the Bulgarian resort of Burgas and said Israel would respond.


"All the signs lead to Iran. Only in the past few months we have seen Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other places," Netanyahu said in a statement.


"Eighteen years exactly after the blast at the Jewish community centre in Argentina, murderous Iranian terror continues to hit innocent people. This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading throughout the entire world. Israel will react powerfully against Iranian terror," he said.

[American Patriot]

Israeli Bus: 8 dead, dozens wounded in Bulgaria bus bombing Netanyahu points to Iran

18 July, 20:14



Explosion in bus with Israeli passengers at Bulgaria



(ANSAMed) - ROME - At least 8 people died and dozens were wounded, some seriously, in an explosion on a bus carrying Israeli tourists who had just landed in the Bulgarian seaside resort of Burgas on Wednesday.

A suicide bomber standing in front of the bus while it was still parked at the airport set off the explosion, Israeli sources said.

At the moment ''everything indicates'' that Iran is behind the terrorist attack, Israeli Premier Benyamin Netanyahu said. ''Israel will know how to find and punish those responsible,'' Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

A plane carrying medical personnel as well as Israeli police and intelligence experts and Orthodox rabbis from the Zaka organization has taken off for Burgas from Tel Aviv. The plane will bring back as many survivors as can withstand the journey.

Police and intelligence will immediately being investigating the crime scene, while the rabbis will officiate the last rites for those who have lost their lives, Israeli sources said.

[American Patriot]

White House condemns Bulgaria attack

Published: July 18, 2012

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/07/18/2...#storylink=cpy

The Associated Press



WASHINGTON — The White House is condemning "in the strongest possible terms" a deadly blast in Bulgaria that struck a bus of Israeli tourists.


White House press secretary Jay Carney says the United States "condemns such attacks on innocent people, especially children, in the strongest possible terms." Carney says President Barack Obama's "thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and injured."


Carney says the U.S. stands with the Israeli people and the people of Bulgaria. He says the Obama administration was working to learn all the facts in the case but the U.S.'s "commitment to Israel's security remains unshakeable."


Israel has blamed Iran for the deadly blast in Burgas that killed at least three Israeli tourists.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/07/18/2...#storylink=cpy

[American Patriot]

U.S. can defeat any Iranian effort to block oil shipping: Panetta

Related Video

U.S. can defeat any Iranian effort to block oil shipping: Panetta

10:41am EDT







U.S. can defeat any Iranian effort to block oil shipping: Panetta (00:45)


By David Alexander



WASHINGTON | Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:55pm EDT




(Reuters) - The United States has the military capacity to defeat any Iranian attempt to shut down sea commerce in the oil-rich Gulf region and will hold Tehran directly responsible for shipping disruptions, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday.


"The United States is fully prepared for all contingencies here," Panetta told a Pentagon news conference. "We've invested in capabilities to ensure that the Iranian attempt to close down shipping in the Gulf is something that we are going to be able to defeat, if they make a decision to do that."


Panetta's comments came amid rising tensions in the region over Iran's nuclear program and its threats to close the vital Strait of Hormuz unless the international community revokes sanctions imposed on Iranian oil shipments.


A security team aboard a U.S. Navy oiler opened fire with a .50 caliber machine gun on a small boat off the United Arab Emirates this week after it failed to heed warnings to alter its course. An Indian fisherman was killed and three others were wounded in the incident, which is under investigation.


Concerns about the security situation in the region have prompted the Pentagon to bolster its military presence, announcing this week, for example, that it would move the USS Stennis aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf four months earlier than planned in order to maintain current force levels.


The Stennis will replace another carrier that is being withdrawn, which would have left one strike group in the region to counter Iran and support U.S. combat air operations in Afghanistan.


The U.S. military announced on Tuesday more than 20 countries would participate in anti-mine exercises in the region in September. The exercises will not take place in the Strait and the Pentagon denied it was sending a message to Iran.


The USS Ponce, a forward staging base ship, arrived in the Gulf earlier this month to help support mine countermeasure operations and other maritime security efforts in the region, the military said.


British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond, appearing at the Pentagon news conference with Panetta, said London was committed to helping ensure Gulf sea lanes remained open.


"I can reaffirm our commitment to play our part in maintaining freedom of navigation in the international waters of the Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz," Hammond said. "Any attempt by Iran to close the Straits would be illegal and the international community will not allow it to happen."


Panetta said Washington was prepared to respond to any move against sea commerce by Tehran.


"The Iranians need to understand that the United States and the international community are going to hold them directly responsible for any disruption of shipping in that region, by Iran or for that matter by its surrogates," he said.

[American Patriot]

US won’t let Iran close Strait of Hormuz: Panetta

Last Updated: Thursday, July 19, 2012, 00:32



Washington: The US on Wednesday warned Iran from attempting to close down the crucial Strait of Hormuz, asserting that it has invested enough in the region to "defeat" any such move by Tehran and its servants.

"The Iranians need to understand that the United States and the international community are going to hold them directly responsible for any disruption of shipping in that region by Iran or for that matter by its servants," the US Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, said here at a joint news conference with his British counterpart, Phillip Hammond.

"The United States is fully prepared for all contingencies ... We've invested in capabilities to ensure that the Iranian attempt to close down shipping in the Gulf is something that we are going to be able to defeat if they make that decision to do that," Panetta asserted.

Panetta said he and Hammond discussed the "destabilising behaviour" of Iran during their breakfast meeting.

"The events of this week in the Gulf demonstrate the tense situation that we face there. I can reaffirm our commitment to play our part in maintaining freedom of navigation in the international waters of the Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz.

I said before here in Washington in January that any attempt by Iran to close the Straits would be illegal and the international community will not allow it to happen," Hammond said in his remarks.

In response to a question, Hammond said, UK will continue working with United States and others in this regard.

"We are determined to work as part of the international community effort to ensure freedom of passage in the international waters of the Straits of Hormuz." Yesterday Iran had cautioned the international community against meddling in the region and said it will endanger security of global energy supply.

An estimated 40 per cent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway.

[Malsua]

Washington seeks to soothe Israeli fears

By Geoff Dyer in Washington

Washington Soothing fears?

Why? What possible motive could there be here? Mooslimbs blow up a bus full of Israeli kids and Israel shouldn't do anything about it? It's a given that the US government wouldn't do anything if the roles were reversed, but it's the height of hubris to ask that another country not do anything.

These same mooslimbs are threatening to close the straight of Hormuz. Let them. We can then show those asshole just exactly how ineffective their blockade will be. The Iranians seem to think that since they can capture a British warship with a skiff, that the US Navy doesn't have any resources and will roll over. They simply have not experienced the hell those machines can deliver once they've been cleared to unleash their payloads.

[MTStringer]

Just saw on the morning news scrawl that a Michigan drivers license has been found on the suspected suicide bomber. Perhaps this is what Washington is trying to soothe?

[American Patriot]

Michigan D/L and US Passport. From Dearbornistan....

[Malsua]

I saw that about the Michigan license...once again, an immigrant doing the job no American wants to do.

[MTStringer]

Just reported, FBI says D/L was a fake.

[American Patriot]

Faked... well, that's good and bad.

Here's why. Because it was faked this means that it was MOST LIKELY with Iran's backing - that's "good".

the "Bad" is because it was a Michigan D/L (I'm from Detroit originally, I know Dearborn because Dad used to deliver wine to that area and most summers I was out with him on the truck). That are was CRAMMED FULL of Iranians. Among others, but mostly Iranians.

That means that while it was faked it was faked by people in this country helping out their "brothers" in Iran to get things done.

[American Patriot]

Suicide Attacker With Fake U.S. ID Blamed in Bus Bomb

Interior Ministry, via Associated Press
This photo released by the Bulgarian Interior Ministry shows a man with long hair wearing a backpack that the ministry says is the bomber of a tour bus carrying Israeli citizens.

By NICHOLAS KULISH and MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

Published: July 19, 2012



BURGAS, Bulgaria — The attack on a tour bus carrying Israeli vacationers outside the airport here was carried out by a suicide bomber using fake American identification, Bulgarian officials said on Thursday.





Enlarge This Image

Reuters

Damaged buses at Bulgaria's Burgas airport on Wednesday after at least six people were killed and dozens more were wounded by an explosion on a bus carrying Israeli tourists outside the airport.




Officials in Israel and Bulgaria said that five Israelis had been killed. The Bulgarian driver of the bus was also killed along with the bomber, and dozens more were injured in what Bulgaria, Israel and the United States called a terrorist attack. Israel quickly blamed Iran and promised a firm response. But Nickolay Mladenov, Bulgaria’s foreign minister, said in an interview, “We’re not pointing the finger in any direction until we know what happened and complete our investigation.”


Iranian officials made their first comments on Thursday. The foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said that the Islamic republic, itself the subject of terrorist attacks, condemned the attack in a blanket condemnation of all terrorism.
“Terrorism endangers the lives of innocents,” Mr. Mehmanparast said, according to Iran’s state Arabic-language television channel Al Alam.


At the same time, the head of Iran’s Parliament, Ali Larijani, criticized the United States for not condemning the bombing in Damascus on Wednesday that struck at President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle, killing three key defense officials, including his brother-in-law.


“By not condemning the assassination in Syria, the Americans show that they believe in good assassinations and bad assassinations,” Mr. Larijani said, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency. There had been conflicting reports on the number of dead in the bus bombing. At one point on Thursday, the Bulgarian interior minister, said the toll was seven, including six Israelis, but later said that he had been misinformed and that one critically injured Israeli woman had stabilized, not died.


Speaking to reporters at the airport at this Black Sea resort on Thursday morning, the interior minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, said the bomber was carrying a fake Michigan driver’s license at the time of the blast. One of the Israeli victims died overnight, along with the 36-year-old Bulgarian bus driver.


Mr. Tsvetanov described the bomber as a man with long hair wearing a backpack. The man looked like a tourist and blended in with the travelers from Israel, security footage showed.


The bomber was a white male wearing glasses and the driver’s license was “more or less intact,” according to a Bulgarian official with knowledge of the investigation.


“He either had turned with his backpack toward the bus when he exploded it or pretended he was one of the group putting his backpack in the baggage compartment under the bus,” the official said. “Video footage clearly shows him in the airport earlier wandering back and forth, following the group, looking nervous.”


“In no way did this person distinguish himself from the arriving tourists who were in the area,” Mr. Tsvetanov said.
The police were checking his fingerprints against international databases and were also analyzing the attacker’s DNA, he said.


“Our priority now is to determine the identity of the attacker,” Mr. Tsvetanov said.


Bulgarian authorities said they were working together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, Israeli intelligence services and Interpol. Mr. Tsvetanov said that the F.B.I. determined that the driver’s license was a fake and that the person described on the card did not exist. He said that Bulgarian government had spoken with John O. Brennan, President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, overnight.


An Israeli Defense Force plane carrying 33 of the wounded took off from Burgas for Israel on Thursday morning and was expected to land at Ben Gurion Airport, then disperse passengers to hospitals around the country, a military spokesman in Jerusalem said. The dead were to be flown back later in the day.


Israel’s foreign minister said on Thursday morning that there was clear evidence that Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran, was responsible for the attack, “with the close cooperation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.”


“I cannot get into all the operational details, but the identification is certain,” the minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said in an interview on Israel Radio. “From immediately after the attack, we worked hard and now the puzzle is put together, the identity and the responsibility are completely clear.”


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Wednesday night promised a “forceful response” to the attack, spent much of the morning in security briefings. Danny Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, said the response would be diplomatic as well as operational, including a complaint to the United National Security Council and an effort to have Hezbollah added to the list of international terror groups.


Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak found himself on the defensive as failing to thwart the attack, as Bulgarian and Israeli intelligence officers managed to do with a similar attempt in January.


“The world is big and full of places where these people act,” Mr. Barak said. “We try to find every crack. The success of our intelligence and of others has been great, but there are days that are painful, and yesterday was one such day. This is a mishap, mishaps happen, this is not negligence.”


Iran had no immediate official comment on Israel’s accusations, but news agencies quoted state television as rejecting the accusation.


No group claimed responsibility for the blast, but if the Israeli accusations are confirmed, the blast would be the first successful attempt by Iranian operatives to kill Israelis in attacks abroad after a string of failed bomb plots targeting Israeli diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand this year.


Even without such confirmation, the Bulgarian explosion escalated the tensions between Israel and Iran that are already high because of the Iranian nuclear program, which Israel has called a guise for Iran to develop nuclear weapons despite Tehran’s repeated denials.


The explosion came only a few days after a suspected operative of Hezbollah was arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of plotting to kill Israeli tourists there.


In the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, home to most of the 5,000 Bulgarian Jews in the overwhelmingly Christian country of more than seven million, the mayor ordered police deployments in all public places linked to the Jews, The Associated Press reported.


In Washington, President Obama said in a statement that he strongly condemned “today’s barbaric terrorist attack on Israelis in Bulgaria,” but he did not specifically accuse Iran.


In what appeared to be an Obama administration effort to reinforce his support for Israel, which Mr. Obama’s Republican adversary, Mitt Romney, has called into question, the White House also said in a separate statement that Mr. Obama had called Mr. Netanyahu to offer his condolences, and had “pledged to stand with Israel in this difficult time, and provide whatever assistance is necessary to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators.”


“All signs point to Iran,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement Wednesday. He and other Israeli officials noted that the explosion came on the 18th anniversary of a bombing of an Argentine Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and wounded hundreds, an attack for which Argentine prosecutors have blamed Iran.


Bellicose adversaries, Israel and Iran have a long history of accusing each other of terrorist attacks. Iran, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and has sometimes referred to Israel as a Zionist plague on the Middle East, has blamed Israeli agents for a string of assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists over the past five years, for which Iran has vowed revenge.
Israel has never confirmed or denied responsibility for those assassinations.


Mr. Netanyahu’s statement recalled what Israel has described as Iranian plots to target Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other countries. He called such a pattern a “global Iranian terror onslaught, and Israel will react firmly to it.”


Burgas is a popular destination for Israelis. The explosion occurred outside the terminal shortly after the victims arrived via a charter flight from Tel Aviv with 154 people, including eight children.


“We were just getting on the bus when suddenly someone came near the bus’s front door and exploded,” Gal Malka told an Israeli television station. “We heard a boom and next thing we saw were body parts scattered on the ground. There were wounded people also on the ground. I could see a burned hole in the side of the bus.”


Oren Katz described tamping down the flames of a woman who had caught fire. “It was strange that there were so many security people around, but none of them seemed to be focused on actually helping the wounded people, and couldn’t believe that I of all people was the one taking care of this burning woman and stopping her from burning up.”


Burgas is 250 miles east of Sofia. In recent years Burgas has become popular as an inexpensive destination for groups of Israeli teenagers taking trips after finishing high school and before their military service.


Some Iran analysts in Israel counseled caution about assigning responsibility for the Bulgaria blast until more evidence was presented. “It’s far too early to conclude who was behind the bombing in Bulgaria today,” said Meir Javedanfar, an Iran expert at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel. “For now all we have to go on are assumptions, and a list of credible suspects.”


He did not rule out Al Qaeda, recalling the deadly attack on Israeli tourists at a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, in 2002.

Reporting was contributed by Thomas Erdbrink from Tehran, Jodi Rudoren, Gabby Sobelman and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem, Rick Gladstone from New York, and Richard Berry from Paris.

[American Patriot]

Looks like a wig to me.

[American Patriot]

Burgas Suicide Bomber Carried Explosives in Backpack

July 19, 2012, Thursday| 424 views





The bombing suspect in the July 18 terror attack, caught on a CCTV camera wearing bermudas and a blue T-shirt, photo by the Interior Ministry


The July 18 deadly attack targeting Israeli tourists at the Burgas Airport was conducted by a suicide bomber carrying explosives in his backpack, according to Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.


The suicide bomber was initially believed to have been hiding in the bus' luggage compartment.


Speaking Thursday at a press conference at the Burgas Airport, Tsvetanov explained that the bomb had gone off while the man had been standing at the bus' door.


Bulgaria's Interior Minister specified that the authorities had obtained the DNA profile and the fingerprints of the suicide bomber and the data had been sent to partner services.


He said that it had not yet been established where he had entered EU territory but there had been suggestions about the countries he had stopped by.


Tsvetanov noted that the bomb site had been cleared and the airport in the Black Sea city was expected to resume operations at 6 p.m.


The Israeli Ambassador to Bulgaria, Shaul Kamisa-Raz ,who also attended the press conference, rejected rumors that his daughter had been injured in the accident.


The July 18 terror attack took seven victims, including five Israeli tourists, the Bulgarian driver of the bus and the suicide bomber, and left over 23 injured.

[American Patriot]

WATCH: Footage of suspected suicide bomber in attack on Israelis in Bulgaria

Bulgarian FM says it is a 'mistake' to blame certain countries, groups before an investigation is completed, after Netanyahu says attack has Iran's fingerprints; casualties land in Israel.

By Yaniv Kubovich and Barak Ravid | Jul.19, 2012 | 1:42 PM | 2

Tweet

Story Highlights

• Netanyahu says Iran is behind the Burgas terror attack
• 34 casualties arrive in Israel and are evacuated to various hospitals
• Bulgarian police say suspect was long-haired Caucasian in sportswear

Security footage of the suspected terrorist




this story is by
Yaniv Kubovich

Barak Ravid








A top Bulgarian official said Thursday that it was a "mistake" to blame any specific country or organization for the terror attack on an Israeli tourist bus, as new security camera footage revealed the suspect who allegedly carried out the suicide bombing.


Earlier Thursday, Israeli and Bulgarian stated that the Wednesday attack on the bus in the coastal city of Burgas, that killed seven and wounded dozens, was a suicide attack.


Israel Air Force planes carrying the 34 Israeli casualties landed in Israel after taking off from Burgas airport a few hours earlier.


The Bulgarian police said that footage from airport security cameras captured the suspect roaming the airport for at least one hour, the Bulgarian news agency Novinite reported. According to the report he was a long-haired Caucasian in sportswear.

The body suspected as belonging to the terrorist had a U.S. driver's license issued in Michigan – apparently fake.


Following the attack on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran is responsible for the terror attack, saying that all the evidence in Israel's possession points to Iran as the responsible party.


"In the past months we saw Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in Thailand, India, Kenya, and Cyprus," Netanyahu said. "Exactly 18 years after the attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina, the Iranian terror continues to hurt innocent people."


"This is an Iranian terror offensive that is spreading throughout the world," he said, warning that Israel will issue a "strong response against Iranian terror."


However, speaking on Thursday, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said that he thought "it is wrong and a mistake to point fingers at this stage of the investigation at any country or organization."




Israeli military and medical personnel talk in front of a hospital in the city of Burgas, Bulgaria, Thursday, July 19, 2012.AP






"We are only in the beginning of the investigation and it is wrong to jump to conclusions," he added, saying that Bulgaria had "excellent cooperation with the Israeli security forces in matters pertaining to the investigation."


Mladenov added that the countries "will investigate until we discover who is behind the attack. At this stage all we know about the identity of the culprit is his external appearance and a copy of a counterfeit Michigan driver's license."

[Malsua]

I bet we find out that guy is just a student or something.

[American Patriot]

hahaha yeah, "A poor student that was duped into carrying a bomb".

I simply do NOT grasp the mentality of someone who straps on a bomb and kills people AND themselves.

Seriously, what the HELL is wrong with them?

[American Patriot]

I bet we find out that guy is just a student or something.

Unless you mean he was one of the Israeli students?

[American Patriot]

July 19, 2012 10:45 AM
Bulgaria: Bus bomber's ID remains a mystery






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(CBS/AP) BURGAS, Bulgaria - A lanky, long-haired man wearing a baseball cap and plaid shorts with a fake Michigan driver's license carried out a deadly suicide attack on a bus full of Israeli vacationers, Bulgarian officials said Thursday.


Israel stuck by its claim that the attack was carried out by Iranian-backed Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite Muslim guerrilla group, and threatened retaliation. Seven people -- five Israelis, the Bulgarian driver and the bomber -- died in the blast Wednesday.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran and its protege Hezbollah have been carrying out a "global terror campaign" for more than a year that has targeted Israeli and others.


No group claimed responsibility for the attack. But Israel has attributed a series of attacks on its citizens around the world in recent months to Iran and its Shiite proxies, threatening to escalate a shadow war between the two arch-enemies.


The attack occurred shortly after the Israelis boarded a bus outside the airport in the Black Sea resort town of Burgas, a popular destination for Israeli tourists -- particularly for high school graduates before they are drafted into military service -- about 250 miles east of the capital, Sofia.


Bulgarian television aired security camera footage Thursday showing the suspected bomber wandering in and out of the terminal shortly before the blast. He was dressed as a tourist himself, wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt, plaid shorts and sneakers with short white socks. He carried a large backpack with wheels.


Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said the bomber was believed to have been about 36 years old and had been in the country between four and seven days.


"We cannot exclude the possibility that he had logistical support on Bulgarian territory," the minister said. He declined to elaborate.


Ex-Revolutionary Guard member: Iran ready to hit U.S. if Israel attacks
Bulgaria: Attack on Israeli tourist bus likely by suicide bomber


Officials were using DNA samples to try to establish his identity. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov told reporters that a Michigan driver's license was retrieved, but he said U.S. officials reported that "there was no such person in their database." Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab communities in the United States.


The Israelis had just arrived on a charter flight from Tel Aviv carrying 154 people, including eight children. Some of them told Israeli television that they were just boarding the white bus in the airport parking lot for a ride to their hotel when the blast occurred.


Officials reported overnight that an eighth person had died, but later said that was incorrect.


Israel's military said a military plane carrying 33 Israelis injured in the bombing arrived Thursday in Israeli. At least two critically injured Israelis were sent to Sofia for treatment, according to the head of the Israeli military medical corps, Brig. Gen. Itzik Kreis.


A Bulgarian government plane will fly home 100 other Israelis who were not wounded but who want to cut short their vacation.
Smoke rises into the sky after an explosion at Burgas airport, outside the Black Sea city of Burgas, Bulgaria, some 250 miles east of the capital, Sofia, Wednesday, July 18, 2012.
(Credit: AP Photo/ Burgasinfo)
Bulgarian authorities Thursday dispatched 200 police to hotels where about 1,000 Israelis were staying just north of Burgas. A representative of the Ortanna tour company said about 10,000 Israelis had booked vacations in Bulgaria through the firm this summer and about half had canceled after the attack. Israel blamed Iran and its Hezbollah proxies for the attack, saying they are waging a campaign against Israeli targets everywhere. Hezbollah used suicide attackers against Israeli troops during the occupation of Lebanon but does not have a history of suicide strikes abroad.
"All signs point to Iran," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. "This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading across the world. Israel will react forcefully to Iran's terror."
"The direct executors are Hezbollah," added Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "Israel will do all it can to find those responsible and punish them, both those who carried it out directly and those who dispatched them."
On Sunday, Cypriot authorities said they had arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of planning terror attacks. Cypriot radio said he was of Lebanese origin and carrying a Swedish passport. Netanyahu blamed Iran for the alleged plot.
On Thursday, Iran's state TV called Israel's claims that it was responsible for the Bulgarian attack "ridiculous" and "sensational."
But a former Iranian agent from that country's feared Revolutionary Guard corps - a man who's been on the inside - tells CBS News that a surrogate, stealth war, carried out in the shadows by both sides, has been going on for more than a year.
It began with the targeted killings of Iranian scientists working on that country's nuclear program.
Then a computer virus was covertly deployed against Iranian nuclear sites. The virus was designed to make the sites self-destruct. Iran publicly accused the U.S., Great Britain and Israel of being behind the plots.
Israel has not directly replied to the Iranian charges. But Israeli leaders have repeatedly said that "all options are on the table" in trying to disrupt Iran's nuclear program -- a phrase that is widely interpreted as meaning the possibility of a military strike and other measures that could include cyberwarfare.
Now, it appears to some that Iran is striking back.
"They're looking at this saying, 'We've got to respond. Aggression has been taken against us,"' says former CIA analyst Phil Mudd. "So that's the first factor. The second factor is, in the background, they're hearing the drumbeats of war."
In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged the Israelis to show restraint until "the real perpetrators and backers" are found.
In Washington, the Obama administration condemned the blast "in the strongest possible terms." White House press secretary Jay Carney said U.S. "commitment to Israel's security remains unshakeable."
Israel dispatched a military medical and relief team to Bulgaria, a European Union nation of 7.3 million that borders Greece and Turkey.
Bulgaria's government resisted Nazi demands to deport Jews to death camps in World War II. Many of them migrated to Israel when the Communists seized power after the war. Since the fall of Communism, Bulgaria and Israel have maintained friendly ties.
The Burgas airport was closed and traffic redirected. In Sofia, the capital, Mayor Yordanka Fandakova ordered a stronger police presence at all public places linked to the Jewish community. Some 5,000 Jews live in Bulgaria, most in Sofia.

[American Patriot]

I guess the guy was "intact" enough for them to be able to get fingerprints, plenty of DNA samples around... they ought to figure out who he is if he has ever had an arrest at this point or if he was already known to intelligence communities.