Suspect in Saudi ambassador assassination plot pleads guilty
Mansour Arbabsiar says he conspired with members of the Iranian military to plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.
October 17th, 2012
01:04 PM ET

Suspect in Saudi ambassador assassination plot pleads guilty

Manssor Arbabsiar once denied that he participated in a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Now he says he did.

Arbabsiar, a 57-year-old Iranian-American man from Texas, pleaded guilty Wednesday to trying to recruit a Mexican drug cartel to bomb a Washington, D.C., restaurant while Saudi Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir dined there.

Arbabsiar, who was arrested in September 2011 after an undercover informant's tip to authorities, said in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday that he conspired with members of the Iranian military in the formulation of the plot. The admission comes nearly a year after he pleaded not guilty.

Federal authorities say Arbabsiar and cohorts hired someone they thought was a cartel contact to assassinate the ambassador, but the contact was an undercover government informant who kept in contact with Arbabsiar until there was enough evidence for his arrest, according to federal court documents.

Timeline: Alleged plot to kill Saudi ambassador

Arbabsiar is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year dismissed allegations that Iran was connected to the plot.

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Filed under: Iran • Saudi Arabia
soundoff (29 Responses)
  1. kellyinniles

    @ Banasy I'm doing good. Still have some rough days when I can't stop thinking about Lee but I take it day by day looking forward and moving on like he wanted me to.

    October 17, 2012 at 5:14 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Frederick1337

    The obvious simplicity of this plot as outlined proves beyond a doubt that actual Iranian officials were not behind it. We are talking about the same intelligence group that intercepted a highly classified Arial drone. Nuff said.

    October 17, 2012 at 6:17 pm | Report abuse |
  3. SanFran

    Islam is a religion of peace, diversity is strength, we are a nation of immigrants, everyone is equal but the color of their skin.

    October 17, 2012 at 7:16 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Guest

    Skulking around paying others to kill. Yep, Iran has been doing this since they killed off their entire generation of fighters down to the kids in their war with Iraq. They are just getting bolder with their war talk now because they have restocked their supply of human cannon fodder. They have a history of provoking other nations into war, & then claiming the other country is the aggressor.
    This guy was going to bomb a restaurant that was frequented by Congress members. He actually told them he did not care if everyone in the place was killed. Lock him up & trow away the key!

    October 17, 2012 at 8:39 pm | Report abuse |
    • Guest

      That should read "Lock him up & throw away the key!". My "h" keystroke must have been too light.

      October 17, 2012 at 8:43 pm | Report abuse |
  5. different chris

    Just listen to "Islands in the Stream." He clearly sings, "That is what," which if you play it backwards sounds something like "Two sit at," which obviously stands for the close alliance between the Saudi royal family and the United States. And it's no coincidence that Kenny Rogers' Roasters went bankrupt in 1998, which when written backwards is 8991. Add those numbers together and you get 27, which I'm certain is important for some reason.

    October 17, 2012 at 10:49 pm | Report abuse |
  6. banasy©

    And if you ad the 2 and the 7 together, you get 9, and if the 9 is upside down, you get 6...three sixes in a row is 666, the sign of the beast...there it is!
    Kenny Rogers is the devil!

    October 17, 2012 at 11:17 pm | Report abuse |
  7. BOMBO ©

    I dreamed about fish, and had fish for dinner.

    October 18, 2012 at 12:12 am | Report abuse |
  8. saywhat

    Asam alaikum, brothers in arms. Do not be deterred. Insh Allah we will defeat the great satan and compel infidel submission! Allah Akbar!

    October 18, 2012 at 12:03 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Highly Motivated

    Good undercover work, I am glad we saved a Washington, D.C., restaurant from destruction.

    October 19, 2012 at 10:06 am | Report abuse |
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