Saudi, Israeli embassies were also targeted, U.S. says; two men charged
MSNBC
11-Oct-2011

Two men allegedly working for "factions of the Iranian government" have been charged with plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and to attack the Saudi and Israeli embassies, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

The criminal complaint, unsealed Tuesday in federal court in New York City, identified the two as Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri.

Holder said Arbabsiar, who was arrested on Sept. 29 in New York, was working for the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard and had confessed to a plot.

Shakuri, who is based in Iran, remains at large, Holder said. He allegedly is a member of Iran's Quds Force, a special unit of the Revolutionary Guard.

Both are originally from Iran and Arbabsiar, 56, is a naturalized U.S. citizen, the complaint said.

The Obama administration will be "taking further action" against Iran as a result, Holder said.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador is Adel al-Jubeir, who has served in that post since 2007.

The indictment is the result of a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Holder said.

The case started when Arbabsiar, who lived in Texas, allegedly made contact with an undercover DEA informant in Mexico and asked for assistance from the Zetas drug cartel to assassinate the am... >>>

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