October 11, 2011
D.C. Terror Plot Foiled: Plan To Kill Saudi Arabian Ambassador, Bomb Washington Embassies Disrupted
A "significant terrorist act in the United States" has been disrupted by Federal agents, according to source. The plot was connected with Iran, and in D.C. would have included bomb attacks on the Saudi and Israeli embassies. Charges stemming from the plot were filed in New York by the Department of Justice.
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According to the report, the attack would also have included the assassination of Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabian's ambassador to the United States.
The case is called "Operation Red Coalition." Attorney General Eric Holder will be giving a briefing momentarily.Two people have arrested with conspiracy to kill the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
A federal criminal complaint in New York says the two also are charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.
It says the ambassador was in the United States when the death plot was supposed to occur.
The suspects are identified as Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri.
According to a criminal complaint, Arbabsiar is a naturalized U.S. citizen who holds both a U.S. and an Iranian passport.
Update, 2:51 p.m.: Read the full complaint from the Justice Department.
Update, 3:03 p.m.: According to USA Today, the Saudi Embassy is declining comment, referring inquiries to the Justice Department.
The Saudi embassy building is located on 601 New Hampshire Ave. NW, adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Watergate office and residential complex. The offices of the Atlantic Media Co. sit directly opposite the street from the embassy. Linda Douglass, an Atlantic spokeswoman, told The Huffington Post that the company did not have immediate comment on the breaking news.
Update, 3:15 p.m.
President Barack Obama was first briefed on the plot in June, said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor.
"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 in this instance and countless others," Vietor said.
Update, 3:31 p.m: The Atlantic's Steve Clemons writes on the terror plot:
What is listed in an official complaint filed by the US government is that a bombing was allegedly planned, perhaps in a Washington, DC restaurant.
The possibility that 100 to 150 people might be killed in the alleged plot was, according to FBI officials, waived off and of no concern to the Iranian interlocutor. According to statements at the news conference, $1.5 million was wired to the alleged perpetrators to finance the costs of the attack.
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