ASSASSINATION

‘Not Guilty’ Plea in Iran Terror Plot

Suspect denies trying to kill Saudi ambassador.

One of the men accused of conspiring to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States pled not guilty Monday in a New York federal court. Manssor Arbabsiar pleaded not guilty to five charges, including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy to murder a foreign official. U.S. officials say Arbabsiar and alleged Iranian Revolutionary Guard member Gholam Shakuri plotted the failed bombing attempt in Washington, D.C. The Iranian Foreign Ministry denies the accusations, including the charge that the two men hired members of a Mexican drug cartel to carry out the assassination plot. Arbabsiar’s alleged co-conspirator has not yet been arrested.