Israel envoys 'target of attacks' in India and Georgia

Israeli officials say their diplomats in India and Georgia have been targeted in apparent bomb attacks.

An explosion hit an embassy car in Delhi, injuring one diplomat. Police said there had been an "incident" but could not confirm an attack.

Israeli and Georgian officials said a bomb had been found beneath a diplomat's car in Tbilisi but was found and defused before it could go off.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was behind the two incidents.

He also blamed Iran for recent plots to attack Israeli targets in Thailand and Azerbaijan that were prevented.

"In all those cases, the elements behind these attacks were Iran and its protege Hezbollah," he told a meeting of his Likud party MPs.

Israel's foreign ministry also said that Israel had the ability to track down those who carried it out.

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, in Jerusalem, says security at Israeli embassies has been further tightened in recent months following warnings of potential attacks after Iranian accusations that Israel was behind a series of attacks on its nuclear scientists.

Bomb squad

After the explosion in Delhi, Indian TV showed pictures of a burning car near the embassy. In later images, the fire was extinguished and the car could be seen burnt out.

The area around the vehicle was cordoned off and forensic experts and the bomb squad were examining the remains.

The embassy is guarded by several layers of security and is in a well-defended area of central Delhi close to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official residence.

David Goldfarb, the spokesman for Israel's Delhi embassy, said the diplomat's car was close to the building on Aurangzeb Road when the explosion went off.

He said they had no details as to who was behind the attack.

Officials in Georgia said an explosive device was attached to the bottom of a diplomat's car in the capital, Tbilisi, but was found and defused before it detonated.