(Reuters) - U.S. authorities broke up a plot by men linked to the Iranian government to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States would hold Tehran accountable for the plot.
Two men, originally from Iran, were charged in a U.S. court for the plot. One of them, Gholam Shakuri, was described in the criminal complaint as a member of the Quds Force, a branch of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Shakuri is still at large but the officials said U.S. authorities arrested the other man, Manssor Arbabsiar who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on September 29.
U.S. officials said there had also been initial discussions about other alleged plots, including attacking the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, however no charges for that were revealed Tuesday.
Relations were already sour between the Islamic republic and Washington, which accuses Tehran of backing terrorism and pursuing nuclear arms.
Holder declined to say what measures the Obama administration would take, but said they would be coming soon.
"The disruption of this alleged plot marks a significant achievement by our law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as well as the close cooperation of our partners in the Mexican government," Holder told a news conference in Washington.
"In addition to holding these individual conspirators accountable for their alleged role in this plot, the United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions," he said.
Last month hopes were raised of improved ties when Iran released two U.S. hikers accused of spying when they were arrested on the Iran-Iraq border in 2009. Holder said there was no link between the hikers' case and the alleged plot.
SAUDI AMBASSADOR
Officials said that the Saudi ambassador, Adel Al-Jubeir, was never in danger. President Barack Obama was briefed in June about the alleged plot and through a spokesman expressed gratitude for it being disrupted.
The assassination plot began to unfold in May 2011 when Arbabsiar approached an individual in Mexico to help, but that individual turned out to be an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The confidential source, who was not identified, immediately tipped law enforcement agents, according to the criminal complaint. Arbabsiar paid $100,000 to the informant in July and August for the plot, a down payment on the $1.5 million requested.
Shakuri approved the plan to kill the ambassador during telephone conversations with Arbabsiar, the complaint said.
After Arbabsiar was arrested in New York, he allegedly confessed and provided U.S. authorities with more details about the Iranian government's alleged involvement, Holder said.
The men are charged with one count of conspiracy to murder a foreign official, two counts of foreign travel and use of interstate and foreign commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire and one count each of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism.
Authorities said no explosives were acquired for the plot and the weapon of mass destruction charge can range from a simple improvised device to a more significant weapon. They face up to life in prison if convicted.
(Reporting by Basil Katz in New York, James Vicini, Mark Hosenball, Tabassum Zakaria and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by David Storey)