U.S. Charges 2 Iranians in Plot to Kill Saudi Envoy, Iran Rejects Prefabricated Scenario
The United States said Tuesday it had busted a plot conceived at high levels of Iran's revolutionary leadership to kill the Saudi envoy to Washington in a major terror attack, and vowed to hold Tehran to account.
An aide to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later on denied allegations that the Islamic republic was involved in such plot.
"The United States will contact governments worldwide to brief them on an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States," Attorney General Eric Holder said.
"I think one has to be concerned about the chilling nature of what the Iranian government attempted to do here," Holder told a press conference after the alleged plot was unveiled.
"One thing that we will be doing is getting in touch with other of our allies and nations around the world to make them aware of what it is that was thwarted here," he said.
Injecting an explosive new element into the showdown between Washington and the Islamic Republic, the Justice Department charged two men with conspiring with factions of the Iranian government to carry out a deadly plot to blow up Saudi Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir on American soil.
The criminal complaint named Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen holding both Iranian and U.S. passports, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iran-based member of Iran's Quds Force, in the plot.
Shakuri remains at large, Justice Department officials said.
Arbabsiar was arrested on September 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was to appear in court later on Tuesday in Manhattan.
"The complaint alleges that this conspiracy was conceived, was sponsored, and was directed from Iran and constitutes a flagrant constitution against the law from protecting diplomats from being harmed," Holder added.
"In addition to them being held accountable for their plot, the United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions."
"The organization that I reference in my warrant is a component of the Iranian government.
"It was directed and approved by the senior members of the Quds force and the Iranian military. High-up officials in those areas were responsible for this plot."
Holder said the plot was "conceived, sponsored and directed from Iran."
News reports said the plot also included a bomb and subsequent bomb attacks on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington.
The case, called Operation Red Coalition, began in May when an Iranian-American from Corpus Christi, Texas, approached a U.S. informant seeking the help of a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, according to counter-terrorism officials.
The Iranian-American thought he was dealing with a member of a Mexican drug organization, according to documents.
"This is a prefabricated scenario to turn public attention away from domestic problems within the United States," Ali Akbar Javanfekr, the president's press adviser, told AFP.
"The U.S. government and the CIA have a lot of experience in deviating public attention from domestic problems in the United States. We have to wait now to know the details of this prefabricated scenario to know the U.S. government's objectives," he said.
Iran and the United States broke off diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago after U.S. diplomats were taken hostage in Tehran by Islamic students.
Tensions have risen in recent years, notably over Tehran's controversial nuclear activities, which the United States fears is being used to develop an atomic arsenal under the guise of a civilian energy programme.
Tehran has repeatedly denied that accusation.
The United States has imposed tough, unilateral sanctions on Iran on top of sanctions adopted by the U.N. Security Council.
Ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia have also deteriorated this year, principally because of Saudi military intervention in Bahrain to help that country's Sunni regime put down pro-democracy protests by members of the Shiite majority. Iran's population is also predominantly Shiite.
Source: Agence France Presse
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