Iran Targeted Israeli Embassy in Washington

[Valin]

The Weekly Standard:

 

Thomas Joscelyn

8/21/12

 

In the fall of 2011, the Obama administration revealed that American officials had discovered an Iranian terrorist plot against Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. Working through a local emissary, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers planned to hire members of a Mexican drug cartel to snuff out the ambassador at a local eatery. Little did the Iranians know that the drug dealers’ hit man they sought to hire was, in reality, an informant for the U.S. government.

 

In its complaint against the operation’s alleged point man, a used car salesman named Manssor Arbabsiar, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that the assassination plot was just one of a few contemplated attacks. In a footnote, the DOJ explained that Arbabsiar and his co-conspirators “had discussed the possibility of attacks on a number of other targets.” The complaint continues (emphasis added): “These targets included foreign government facilities associated with Saudi Arabia and with another country, and these targets were located within and outside of the United States.

 

Although the nation described as “another country” wasn’t named in the complaint, the press reported that it was, unsurprisingly, Israel.

 

In an interview published on WTOP.com last week, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, confirmed that Israeli interests were targeted. Oren explained that, in addition to targeting the Saudis, Iran sought to strike Israel’s embassy in Washington.