Iran has rejected as baseless US accusations linking Iranian officials to the bombing of a US military base in Saudi Arabia in 1996 in which 19 airmen were killed.
"The US judiciary has leveled charges against Iran which have no legal and judicial basis," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi told the official news agency (IRNA).
"The charges complement the sustained efforts made by the United States to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic," he said, noting: "it is a positive answer to the Zionist lobby and influence."
US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Thursday that a grand jury had indicted 13 Saudis and one Lebanese, all members of the Saudi branch of the Lebanese Hizbollah movement.
Ashcroft said elements of the Iranian government "inspired" and "supervised" the 1996 bombing operation, in which 372 people were also injured.
However, "this indictment does not name as defendants individual members of the Iranian government," Ashcroft said. The criteria for indictment is that evidence against any individual named should be sufficiently strong to make a successful prosecution likely, he added.
Saudi Arabia declined to comment on the indictment. Saudi envoy to the US Bandar bin Sultan told reporters that his country considers it “an internal US issue,” while investigations conducted by Saudi officials are not wrapped up yet, according to Al Jazeera satellite channel.
Earlier Friday, Tehran slammed US moves towards maintaining unilateral sanctions against companies that have invested in Iran's oil industry.
Wednesday's vote by a House of Representatives committee was for renewing sanctions against companies investing in the Libyan and Iranian oil industries for five years instead of two as sought by the US administration.
Asefi, quoted by IRNA, said the sanctions contravened international law and would deprive US companies of the chance to compete with those of other countries in Iran – Albawaba.com
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