Iran agents 'planned US terror attacks'

Iran agents 'planned US terror attacks'

www.bbc.co.uk...

US Attorney General Eric Holder says the alleged conspiracy was "conceived, sponsored and directed from Iran"

The US says it has broken up a major terror plot in which agents linked to Iran sought to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

Two men originally from Iran - one a naturalised US citizen - have been charged with counts of conspiracy, Attorney General Eric Holder said.

The plot was "conceived" in Iran by the Quds force, part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, he added.

The state department has listed Iran as a "state sponsor" of terror since 1984.

Mr Holder described the $1.5m (£960,000) assassination plot as being "conceived, sponsored and directed by Iran", and said Tehran would be held accountable for its alleged involvement.

'Drug cartel informant'


FBI Director
Iran has denied involvement with the plot, and the official Islamic Republic News Agency called the charges a "propaganda campaign" by the US government against Tehran.

The Press attache at Iran's mission to the United Nations said the allegations were "totally baseless".

The two men linked to the alleged plot were named as Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalised US citizen with dual Iranian and US passports, and Gholam Shakuri, based in Iran and said to be a member of Iran's Quds Force.

Mr Arbabsiar, who was arrested in John F Kennedy airport in New York on 29 September, has confessed to his involvement in the alleged plot, Mr Holder said. Mr Shakuri was said to be in Iran.

On 24 May 2011 Mr Arbabsiar made contact with an informant for the US Drug Enforcement Agency, under the impression that he was an operative of a Mexican drugs cartel.

Over a series of meetings, details emerged of a conspiracy that involved members of the Iranian government to pay $1.5m for the assassination of Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir on US soil.

The plot would have been carried out with the use of explosives, Mr Holder said. But he added that no explosives were ever put in place and the public was not in danger.

Mr Holder said the plans led Mr Arbabsiar, with approval from Mr Shakuri, to wire $100,000 to a US bank account as a downpayment for the assassination.

They have been charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, weapons conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit international terrorism charges over alleged plans to kill the Saudi ambassador.

President Barack Obama was informed of the alleged plot in June 2011 and has since been kept up to date with developments.

The disruption of the alleged plot is the result of significant co-operation with Mexican authorities White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the president had "directed his administration to provide all necessary support to this investigation".

"The disruption of this plot is a significant achievement by our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and the President is enormously grateful for their exceptional work," Mr Vietor added.

Mr Holder said the alleged conspiracy amounted to a "flagrant violation of US and international law" and breaches international conventions that protect diplomats from harm.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told reporters: "Though it reads like the pages of a Hollywood script, the impact would have been very real and many lives would have been lost."

The treasury department later announced sanctions against five people - including Mr Arbabsiar and Mr Shakuri - whom it linked to the alleged plot.

Treasury Undersecretary David Cohen said the financial transactions involved "lay bare the risk that banks and other institutions face in doing business with Iran".

Mr Arbabsiar appeared briefly at a New York City court later on Tuesday. He did not enter a plea and was held without bail.

He could face a life prison sentence if convicted on all charges, the Department of Justice said.

Criminal charges were brought in the southern district of New York because the alleged $100,000 downpayment was wired through a bank in the area, officials said earlier.

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Its pretty obvious where this is going, one gotta be dumb tonot figure.. Hello WW3

Yeah, of course they did, and i am father christmas

reply to post by maddy21

FBI Director Robert Mueller told reporters: "... it reads like the pages of a Hollywood script..."

You said it, Bobby. And it's almost as believable.

ETA: Covered on CNN site also: news.blogs.cnn.com...
Plenty of skeptical comments on that page, as well.

Wouldn't surprise me if it was all set up by the US government to have an excuse to attack Iran.
Smells like a false flag to me

So somebody just moved a piece on the chessboard.

An attack on US soil would be a foolish move, and piss off the Saudi's at the same time. That doesn't sound right to me. Iran is claiming it's a fabrication, whilst the media is reporting that there's a few Iranians involved.

Odd one.

reply to post by VariableConstant


expect i also see alot of pro war mongering trolls in there as well

2011cnn2011 NUKE IRAN....AND SEND IN DRONES...WAR!

I guess that person has played to much of call of duty

NonZionist This is the sort of thing that used to happen all of the time in Stalin's U.S.S.R.. Targeted individuals (or double-agents) would "confess" to all sorts of crimes and diabolical plots. The "confessions" could then be used to whip gullible people into a frenzy of hatred for whatever group Stalin wanted to attack. When people are blind with Fear and Hate, no questions are asked. The victims are laughed at when they protest their innocence, while Stalin and his henchmen come out looking like Heros. The criminals at the top go free, but their crimes end up bankrupting the country - at which point even the MOST gullible people begin to notice that something is rotten close to home, something that cannot be fixed by making war on countries and religions far away.

Gwen Just another order were taking from our paymasters, the Saudis and the Israelis. Another page is turned..

I agree with Gwen on that part

TXIvy Whoever told you were losing in Iraq and Afghanistan lied to you. Have you ever been to Iraq or Afghanistan? I'm guessing not, because if you had, you'd know that we won the military fight darn decisively, and we're winning the peace just as decisively. Anti-war idiots like yourself think because everything hasnt turned out perfectly in only a few years that it means we somehow are "losing," which is patently ridiculous. You probably would have advocated surrendering to the Germans right after Dunkirk, or retreated from the whole Pacific right after Pearl Harbor. Impatient, immature foolishness.

TXIvy is a neocon i bet he also hasnt been to Iraq and Afghanistan either

John Iran attempting to hire the Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi Ambassador sounds far fetched. I mean very far fetched when they could have used other means to do a more professional job.

John has a point on that one.

RealExpert There are six times the word "Terrorism" in this article. Looking at the previous events of this kind like the one where israelis were caught on camera in Dubei killing "Assasinating" palesteniam leader we did not hear about a terror act!!! Killing Other leaders by the US drones recentely was not an act of terror but assasination. There has not been a single Iranian since 1979 arrested on the act of terror. Why is it that CNN and US gov. want to call this a Terror act.? Why is it that CNN wants to weave the word terrorism to Iran? why is it that CNN brings commentators that compare iran with Alcaida and intentionallly link both to Terrorism?

Somewhat of a good point CNN did use the word terrorism six times in that article.

There are interesting comments in there but the pro war mongering ones are not interesting i question there mind set unless they are just trolls who love wars.