Editor's note: The U.S. Justice Department says the FBI and the DEA have disrupted a plot involving Iran to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States and commit other attacks. Two men – one arrested, the other at large – have been charged in connection with the alleged plot, which the Justice Department says was directed by elements of the Iranian government.
The Justice Department says one of the men – Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen holding an Iranian passport – arranged to hire for the assassination someone in Mexico who he thought was an associate of a drug trafficking cartel. The person in Mexico actually was a DEA confidential source who was posing as a cartel associate, the Justice Department says.
Here are the latest developments in the story on Wednesday:
[Posted at 12:29 p.m. ET] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that the alleged attempted assassination of Saudi Arabia's U.S. ambassador by Iranian operatives is the "kind of reckless act" which "undermines international norms and the international system."
"Iran must be held accountable," Clinton said.
Clinton said the U.S. government will continue to work to isolate the Iranian regime.
[Posted at 11:48 a.m. ET] Mahan Air, an Iranian commercial airline, has been sanctioned by the United States for its ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
[Posted at 7:27 a.m. ET] Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal said he believes "someone in Iran is going to have to pay the price" for the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States.
Al-Faisal, a key member of the royal family, was speaking at conference in London Wednesday. Al-Faisal's representatives said the remark was his personal view and not the official Saudi position.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Looks like Obama administration using all resources including Saudi's & Mexicans to respond to Iran hostage crisis after their release.
I like turtles.
I love how you people post Everything is Bush's fault or everything is Obama's Fault. The real problem is that moron's like you have blind loyalty to any person or party. How about electing someone with some common sense regardless of there affiliation!
This might be the first sensible comment I've ever read on a CNN article.
One candidate's common sense does not cancel out the idiotic ideology of the engraved party platform he or she is running on.
First, you must have it.
People like you who make sense are usually banned from commenting. How did your post get through?
Very well stated. It's nice to know there are others out there with a simply American point of view and not one sided party politics.
I couldn't agree more, Michael. Well said. The idea one must vote for a party or even believes they are cemented to that party only is ridiculous. Vote for the best candidate no matter what party they associate themself.
When you find someone with common sense let me know.
Makes perfect sense but unfortunately that would mean someone not belonging to the two parties we have. These parties has developed strong roots of their ideology and anyone representing them have to carry those engravings. I think it's about time for a "common sense" party. I had heard some rumors, yeah now it seems like that, about a third-party emerging that would leverage Internet and social media platforms for its transparency and debates.
That is certainly ideal, except candidates of both parties are going to push their parties agenda to maintain support from their base, especially in the first term. Bush did it with his tax cuts and war in Iraq, Obama did it w/Obamacare. There's a sense in both parties that a lesson was learned from George Bush Sr, who went against his parties base and raised taxes to address a burgeoning national debt.
this is PERFECT. Just sit back and watch them kill each other off in in the name of Allah....that many less terrorists in the world!
Ray: Your a fool, this is nothing but a justification for war against Iran, Saudis Arabia has a large US military base and we will be pulled into this. Haven't you learned anything about how the Arabs and Israelis manipulate us into fighting their wars for them ?
Hey Ray, do the world a favor and don't think so much. take the day off.
Bob...which wars have the U.S. been fighting for Israel lately?
@Dante – 9/11 happened because of our friendship w/Israel. I don't say this to advocate turning our backs on Israel, they are an important ally, but it would never have happened if we didn't constantly stick our necks out to support them.
This whole debacle has all the earmarks of a political football – on a need to know basis the average American does not need to know what is going on in the shadows. This is just something that the WH hopes will take some of the scrutiny off them as they continue to struggle and have no clue for addressing the other pressing issues in America.
We can't even trust our own Attorney General ? We can't believe any of the politicians and we certainly can't believe anything coming out of the WH. So why should we put any currency behind this made for TV melodrama !!l
Yes, this is all very true. You forgot to mentio that Osama Bin Laden is still alive and Obama was not born in the US. Go back to Fox News tool!!!!
USA, stay the hell out of this. The Iranians went after Saudi rep. This is none of our business. The arab league already has us doing their dirty work in Libya, and we should not get involved in this in any way.
If they had us doing their dirty work in Libya then infantrymen like me would be there. Fighter pilots don't do dirty work.
Joe: its only the air force that thinks their hands aren't dirty, the rest of the world knows what dirty work looks like and those air force pilots dropping bombs on random brown people look pretty dirty to me.
President Obama will make the right decision-he has been right so far. He was right to kill Bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda, he was right on Libya-Egypt-Tunisia, he has save dthe world economy and has influenced the Israelis to start negotiating with Hamas. Our President is showing why he deserved the Nobel Prize-and he will deal with Iran. The GOP are traitors and want to see America unemployed and weak. The GOP are the real enemies of the USA.
Are you delusional ?
Did you forget your meds today or are you just a blogger working for the white-house ?
Ya he sure did the right thing in Egypt. They are running coptic christians over in the streets with tanks by the dozen. On Libya the jury is still out
You don't need the Navy or any other force. Obama has found the best of the Nintendo age to fly drones. I'd venture to say you get a few spec ops to paint for this target anyday and for free! And to those of you who think '53 makes this our fault, shame on you! I'll take Reza Pahlavi's secular society over Ahmadinejad and his ayatollah's anyday, and Iran said the same thing last election.
The Male Ego of Pride and Dominance is what is destroying our World. Plastic materialistic women who only care about what they see in the Mirror arent helping either.
Let's just blow those maddahphakka Iranians to oblivion.
I'll be shocked if the Saudi's really do something. They should team up with the lsreali's and together they should take out Iran's nuclear facilities.
Oh, this is bad. very bad.
To Saudi prince.
OK. Make someone in Iran pay..are suggesting America does it for you...again?
Sure. How much to pay? It's all money isn't it? Gold, oil or slaves how much needs to be paid? Go to Wall Street they sell souls and will fix up Saudi with a good deal that send some other country broke.
Wall street already went to the CIA saying they needed a justifiable reason for another war, the CIA planners ginned up this charade that the FBI/DEA delivered and the news media reported on. The CIA learned from their Iran adventure in the 50's to avoid having their name associated with any of it. This entire story reeks of false flag CIA operations.
good grief! more stupidity from the worlds ruling class. hey Saudis go after Iran its exactly what "stupid america" wants.
I'll bet there was a collective 'fist pump' when Washington heard about this. Now they have a reason to go in to Iran. This smells like Iraq all over again.
I am fully convinced this was dreamed up in Washington not in Tehran as justification for war against Iran. Washington doesnt wait for reasons to go to war, they create reasons to go to war!