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LAT: "An elaborate Iranian-backed plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States was disrupted by FBI and DEA agents, officials said Tuesday. Members of an elite Iranian security force planned to detonate a bomb at a busy Washington restaurant, killing Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. and possibly over 100 bystanders, according to documents filed in New York federal court. The State Department has listed Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984. The current plot was infiltrated by a Drug Enforcement Agency informant posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel, officials said. The plotters planned to pay a member of the Zetas cartel $1.5 million to carry out the attack, and two advance payments of nearly $50,000 each were wired to an FBI-controlled bank account in August, they said. An Iranian American, Manssor Arbabsiar, 56, has been arrested in the case. An Iran-based member of the secret Quds Force unit of that country's Revolutionary Guard, Gholam Shakuri, was also charged but is not in custody, officials said. The two men were charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, among other counts." http://t.uani.com/pF4M6r
Politico: Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the Iranian government's alleged involvement in a plot to kill the Saudi Arabia's U.S. ambassador 'an outrageous act' and vowed, 'Iranians are going to be held accountable.' 'It's an outrage that violates one of the fundamental premises of on which nations deal with one another and that is the sanctity and safety of their diplomats,' Biden said on 'Good Morning America.' 'This is really over the top. They have to be held accountable and we're in the process of uniting world public opinion toward continuing to isolate and condemn their behavior.' Addressing the terror plot for first time in public since it was announced by the Justice Department on Tuesday, Biden steered clear of calling the Iranian government's alleged involvement in the collusion an act of war, referring to it on multiple occasions as an outrageous act... However, the vice president suggested that the U.S. government would consider imposing more sanctions on Iran, saying on ABC News, 'nothing has been taken off the table.'" http://t.uani.com/po8RrM
FP: "The Obama administration must take stronger steps than just sanctioning five Iranian individuals, as it announced today, in response to the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi envoy in Washington, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) told The Cable. 'That's just charging the individuals involved,' Kirk said in a Tuesday afternoon interview, emphasizing that the Iranian government should be held responsible for the plot directly. 'What the administration should do is prepare to move against Bank Markazi [Iran's Central Bank] in response to the bomb plot.' Kirk took to the floor of the Senate on Tuesday to call on the Federal Reserve and the EU Central Bank to ban all transactions with Iran's central bank, which Kirk said would have the effect of crippling the value of Iran's currency. 'Their currency would become like North Korea's currency,' Kirk said, arguing that the move would constitute a proportional and appropriate response to the Iranian government's involvement in the plot... Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) also called for additional measures against Iran in a speech on the Senate floor today. 'We need to heighten the sanctions on Iran and make it clear that this type of action will not be countenanced,' he said." http://t.uani.com/rkkzFc
Nuclear Program & Sanctions
CBS: "The alleged plot to target the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. while in Washington, D.C. was allegedly run by the secretive military group called the Quds Force. The Quds Force is a sort of subdivision of the Iranian National Guard thought to number 15,000 men. It has a specific mission: To support and train terrorists and insurgents outside Iran. We have no pictures of them, and that's the point. They're a shadowy, secretive force, but we can see the results of some of their operations. In 1994, a bomb destroyed the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in Argentina, killing 85 people. Evidence suggested the attack was planned and executed by the Quds force. In 2007, deadly explosive charges started showing up in Iraq, so sophisticated that they were able to pierce America's extra-armored vehicles. President Bush himself pointed the finger at the Quds force. 'I can say with certainty that the Quds force, a part of the Iranian government, has provided these sophisticated IEDs that have harmed our troops,' Mr. Bush said at the time. This shadowy unit is led by Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani, who was designated a supporter of terrorism by the U.S. State Department in 2007." http://t.uani.com/pGpZaS
AFP: "Iran has suspended a $16 billion gas field contract with China in the Gulf to push it to meet its obligations in another nearby field that is already being tapped by Qatar, the Mehr news agency reported Tuesday. It quoted the managing director of the Pars Oil and Gas Co, Moussa Souri, as saying 'the development contract for North Pars (field) with the Chinese is temporarily suspended.' Souri explained: 'Right now, the priority is developing the shared oil and gas fields, especially South Pars.' He added that Iran's decision to let the Chinese develop the North Pars field 'hinges on their activities in the development of South Pars' Phase 11.'" http://t.uani.com/o2qqAn
CNN: "New imagery posted on Google Earth shows evidence Iran continues to build out its nuclear sites, according to a group focused on stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and related technology. The Institute for Science and International Security said Tuesday it had examined updated commercial satellite imagery of Iran and found evidence of slow, but continuing, build-out of nuclear facilities. Iran has a controversial nuclear program. Many world powers say it aspires to building nuclear weapons but the country says it is developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The U.N. Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran in an effort to curb its nuclear program. ISIS says images of the Arak heavy water reactor and heavy water production facility from June 2010 appeared on Google Earth." http://t.uani.com/nw4gyp
FT: "Iran has replaced Russia's Gazprom Neft with a local consortium and suspended a gas contract with the China National Petroleum Corporation International (CNPC) as it struggles to speed up development of its oil and gasfields. Western oil and gas majors, such as France's Total and Royal Dutch Shell, have not invested in Iran's energy sector in recent years because of sanctions over the country's nuclear programme and Tehran's undesirable contract terms. Iran has in the past turned instead to Asian and Russian companies. However, the shift does not appear to have boosted production. Oil analysts suspect Iran's oil production capacity has fallen from more than 4m barrels per day in 2005 to about 3.6m bpd owing to the depletion of old fields and long delays in development of oil and gas projects. Tehran claims that its production capacity remains largely unchanged." http://t.uani.com/n6bDdl
Reuters: "Iran's central bank will open accounts with two Indian banks to receive part payment for New Delhi's oil imports and use that money to pay for Indian exports, according to an industry source and newspaper report. Indian oil firms will pay 20 percent of their dues to Iran through rupee accounts in India's state-run IDBI Bank Ltd. and UCO Bank, the source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. The Economic Times newspaper said the accounts would be used to pay for half of India's oil and non-oil imports from the Islamic Republic, quoting an unnamed government official." http://t.uani.com/nvUZHG
Human Rights
AFP: "Iran's supreme court said Tuesday it would again examine any appeal by an Iranian pastor who is currently awaiting a verdict in his retrial for aspostasy -- a crime which could be punished with a death sentence. 'If there is an appeal and the case is returned to the supreme court, the case will be reviewed,' it said in a statement quoted by the ISNA news agency. The top court had already overturned on appeal a lower court's order that the 32-year-old pastor, Yusef Nadarkhani, be executed for converting to Christianity 13 years ago. The retrial by the original court was expected to result in a verdict any time from last weekend. But Nadarkhani's lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, told AFP Monday that the case was being referred to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for his 'opinion' -- an unusual move that could signal a delay in the verdict." http://t.uani.com/reihdA
Domestic Politics
AFP: "Iran's traffic police will soon start testing motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol, which has been banned since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the ISNA news agency reported. 'In a month's time, we will station cars across the country to test suspect drivers for alcohol, drugs and psychedelic substances,' Iran's chief traffic policeman, Eskandar Momeni, was quoted as saying. Momeni said drivers who tested positive could face stiff penalties in the Islamic republic's justice system. 'Aside from a fine of two million rials ($165), we will confiscate the licence of all drivers found to have used psychoactive drugs or alcoholic drinks and report them to judiciary officials,' he said. For over three decades, the sale and consumption of alcohol has been banned in Iran, except for Christian minorities." http://t.uani.com/nhrdeU
Foreign Affairs
WashPost: "The allegations of a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington are the latest and perhaps most audacious eruption in the simmering feud between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two regional powers that have long waged proxy battles for influence in the Muslim world. The two countries have been locked in a Cold War for decades, especially since the 1979 Iranian revolution established a theocracy in Tehran that has openly challenged the legitimacy of the royal House of Saud. The rivalry has been fueled by sectarian tensions - Iran has a predominantly Shiite Muslim population, while Saudi Arabia is mostly Sunni - but also centers on their respective ambitions to exercise political and economic power throughout the Middle East. The conflict has waxed and waned over the years but flared up with renewed intensity during the Arab Spring, which ignited popular uprisings that have toppled or threatened to unseat longtime allies of both countries... The Saudi Embassy in Washington said the plot is 'a despicable violation of international norms, standards and conventions and is not in accord with the principles of humanity.' Meantime, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry denied any government involvement, calling the criminal accusations the fruits of a U.S.-Israeli 'conspiracy' to isolate Tehran." http://t.uani.com/qMglBB
WashPost: "For the internationally isolated leaders of Iran, the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York and other major cities are a sign that the 'collapse' of the U.S. political system is underway, and they wholeheartedly support the protests. The Iranian government, itself harshly criticized after a massive crackdown ended months of anti-government protests in 2009 following the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has embraced the leaderless protest movement and is trying to position itself as a champion for the rights of Americans. 'Those arrested and tortured during the peaceful Wall Street protests should be freed immediately, and the American rulers should apologize to them,' Brig Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, a senior Iranian military commander, said Sunday, according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency... 'The United States is currently the scene of a popular uprising which indicates spread of the Islamic awakening to the U.S.,' lawmaker Mohammad Karim Abedi, a member of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy committee, told state media." http://t.uani.com/qksYYH
Opinion & Analysis
WSJ Editorial Board: "One month to the day after the 10th anniversary of 9/11 comes a sobering moment in the history of the U.S. war on terror: The Department of Justice has charged that 'factions of the Iranian government' plotted to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States by blowing him up inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant. Had it succeeded, this would have constituted an act of terror by the Islamic Republic of Iran on U.S. soil, and arguably an act of war. To those, notably an emerging isolationist wing in the Republican party, who've argued lately that the U.S. should pull its efforts back from a waning international terrorist threat to focus on domestic concerns, this event is a wake-up call. One of the two central figures in the alleged plot, Manssor Arbabsiar-described as a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen with Iranian and U.S. passports-was arrested September 29 at JFK Airport in New York. At a July 17 planning meeting in Mexico, an undercover U.S. agent suggested to Arbabsiar that the assassination would cause mass casualties. Arbabsiar replied: 'They [the Iranians] want that guy done; if the hundred go with him, f**k 'em.' The announcement was made yesterday in Washington by Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller, an assistant attorney general for national security and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In short, this is not a group of American guys gone off the rails in New Jersey. The second figure named in the alleged plot, and Arbabsiar's Iranian contact, was identified as Gholam Shakuri, a member of Iran's Qods force and still at large. Qods is described in the Justice charge sheet as 'a special operations unit of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that is said to sponsor and promote terrorist activities abroad.' ... This appalling news needs to be placed in the broader context of Iran's behavior. One of the charges brought by the U.S. against the two men is 'conspiracy to commit an act of international terrorism transcending national boundaries.' That aptly describes what seems to occupy much of the Iranian government's waking hours." http://t.uani.com/pps35I
David Ignatius in WashPost: "With its alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Iran has handed the United States an opportunity to undermine Tehran at a moment when U.S. officials believe the Iranian regime is especially vulnerable. A White House official described the assassination scheme as 'extraordinarily brazen' and said it appeared to have been authorized by senior levels of the Quds Force, the elite covert-action arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. The force, headed by a fabled spymaster named Qassem Soleimani, is said to report directly to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 'We see this as a chance to go out to capitals around the world and talk to allies and partners about what the Iranians tried to do,' the official said. 'We're not going to tolerate targeting a diplomat in Washington. We're going to try to use this to isolate them to the maximum extent possible.' Iran has denied the allegation and called it a 'fabrication.' An assassination in Washington would be an unusually bold move by the Iranians. Their covert operatives bombed the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983, but they have never carried out a major attack inside the United States. If the plot alleged in 21-page indictment is true, it would be a sloppy one, with extremely poor tradecraft, by Quds Force standards... The alleged Iranian plot is a potent piece of information partly because it surfaces at a time when Iran is facing serious problems, internally and externally. A domestic power struggle between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Khamenei has paralyzed parts of the government. Meanwhile, Iran's most important Arab ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is threatened by a growing domestic opposition. Now added to this mix is an alleged Iranian plot to kill Amb. Adel Al-Jubeir, the prominent emissary of the leading Gulf Arab nation. It's a case that, if the allegations true, illustrates the threat posed by Iran and, in that sense, will help galvanize international opposition to the regime." http://t.uani.com/p8gbRz
Kenneth Pollack in The Daily Beast: "It is against this backdrop that we should weigh the possibility, as suggested by the U.S. government claim, that Iran may have tried to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States by blowing up a restaurant on American soil. If true, it would suggest three important things about Tehran's thinking that take us beyond what we already believed: 1. That the regime believes it is already locked in an undeclared covert war with the United States-perhaps believing that the United States was behind the Stuxnet virus that set back Iran's nuclear program, as well as the killing of several Iranian nuclear scientists on Iranian soil. Alternatively, the regime may believe that the Israelis were behind those acts, but that the U.S. (and Saudi Arabia) egged them on. 2. That the regime is willing to go way beyond anything it has ever done before to strike blows against the United States in this war. For instance, in the 1990s, the last time the regime (mistakenly) reached a similar conclusion, the most it did was to detonate a truck bomb outside an American military housing complex in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American servicemen. The Saudi-American tie was there in this attack as well, but at that time, the Iranians stayed off American soil. 3. That the regime may no longer be concerned about a massive American conventional military retaliation. In the past, that fear has been an important restraint on Iranian action against the United States. Again, if true, this plot suggests that the Iranians may believe either that the United States is so consumed with its own internal problems and so determined to avoid another war in the Middle East that the American people would not countenance any action that might risk escalation with Iran. Alternatively, it may suggest that Iran believes its nuclear program is far enough along to deter conventional American military retaliation. Each of these would be troubling in its own right. It's why it is so important to substantiate both the plot, and its connection to Iran. Because if it is valid, it represents a very significant set of steps in the wrong direction for Iranian strategy. Nevertheless, even if the claim is shown to be valid, we should not assume that this means that Iran is an irrational nation hell-bent on harming Americans at any cost, as it is sometimes depicted in the Western press. Even after the 2009 purge, the Tehran regime is not Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which was recklessly aggressive to the point of inadvertent suicide. But, if this incredible claim is proven true, it should remind us that Iran also is not a normal country by any stretch of the imagination, and that in a Middle East already in turmoil we now face a more aggressive, more risk-taking Iran that may be looking to stir the pot in ways that it once found imprudent." http://t.uani.com/nhCUjU
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