“Nothing off the table” in U.S. Response to Iranian Plot, Biden Says
Vice President Joe Biden says that “nothing is off the table” in the U.S. response to the Iranian plot:
Here’s some of the ABC News website report on the interview:
Vice President Joe Biden said today that “nothing has been taken off the table” when it comes to the U.S. response to an alleged plot by Iran to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. and unleash deadly terrorist bombings in Washington, D.C.
“It is an outrageous act that the Iranians are going to have to be held accountable,” Biden told ABC News’ “Good Morning America”. “This is really over the top.”
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday the DEA and FBI had disrupted a plot “conceived, sponsored and… directed from Iran” to murder the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. in or outside a crowded Washington, D.C. restaurant which potentially would have been followed up by bombings of the Saudi Arabian and Israeli embassies. The U.S. said an Iranian-American, 56-year-old Manssor Arbabsiar of Corpus Christi, Texas, was working for elements of the Iranian government when he attempted to hire hitmen from the feared Zetas Mexican drug cartel to carry out the hit, but Arbabsiar was unwittingly speaking to a DEA informant from the start.
Senior Obama administration officials had previous told ABC News the U.S. response would not include the possibility of an armed conflict with Iran and — though a complaint filed in federal court directly tied Iran’s elite Quds military unit to the plot — there was no information that Iran’s top leaders were aware or had any role.
Biden said the U.S. was in the process of “uniting world opinion” against Iran as it goes forward with a response. The U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday sanctions against five Iranians allegedly tied to the plot..
Here’s a PDF of the U.S. complaint about this plot.
8 Responses to ““Nothing off the table” in U.S. Response to Iranian Plot, Biden Says”
Is anyone else skeptical about this assassination plot? just a nagging feeling that it seems a little amateurish for a top-flite Iranian intelligence service to have perpetrated and/or was planned by lower level guys. Just sayin.
It does seem kind of bumbling for an Iran intelligence operation.
I don’t believe that the Iranian Intelligence apparatus is, or, has ever been so outstandingly competent. I do believe that they are getting more aggressive, and cite their little fleet moving into the Atlantic as an example. It is obvious to me that the last thing President Obama wants is to increase war spending by attacking/invading Iran. The Iranians know this and that may have given them the confidence to do this. It was clearly not in Iran’s best interest to do such a terrible thing, but Iran has been doing goofy crap, not in their best interest, for decades.
Seriously, how do you guys know how competent the Iranian intelligence guys are?
Iran is ready to topple, holding on to control with a rusty iron grip. We should use this to encourage that. Those guys are nuts over there. Look at their president. I know he is an installed puppet of the religious leaders, but still. Do I know for sure that Iran was involved? Of course not, but I certainly wouldn’t rule it out just because it would have been stupid of them to do it.
S., you may be right and my suspicious mind may be working overtime.
It’s entirely possible that it was some schmuck in the lower levels of Quds who thought he could pull this off and look good if it worked.
Yup,…………………
Well, since it didn’t work, I suspect that particular schmuck is in a heap of trouble.