US thwarts major Iran-linked terror plot: Report

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US authorities charged two Iranians in a 'plot directed by elements of the Iranian Government' to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States as part of a major terror attack.

A criminal complaint charges Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old naturalised US citizen holding both Iranian and US passports, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iran-based member of the country's Quds Force, in the plot, the Justice Department said.

The plot called for the assassination of the Saudi envoy in an explosives attack, which could have killed many other people and would have been just 'the opening act' in an attack on US soil, officials said.

Shakuri remains at large. Arbabsiar was arrested on September 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and was to make his initial appearance on Tuesday before in federal court in Manhattan. He faces a maximum potential sentence of life in prison if convicted of all the charges.

"The criminal complaint unsealed today exposes a deadly plot directed by factions of the Iranian government to assassinate a foreign ambassador on US soil with explosives," said Attorney General Eric Holder.

"Through the diligent and coordinated efforts of our law enforcement and intelligence agencies, we were able to disrupt this plot before anyone was harmed. We will continue to investigate this matter vigorously and bring those who have violated any laws to justice."

Holder said the plot was 'conceived, sponsored and directed from Iran'.

News reports said the plot also included a bomb and subsequent bomb attacks on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington.

The case, called Operation Red Coalition, began in May when an Iranian-American from Corpus Christi, Texas, approached a US informant seeking the help of a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, according to counter-terrorism officials.

The Iranian-American thought he was dealing with a member of a Mexican drug organization, according to documents.