US Warns of Iran’s Use of Embassies to Plot Terrorist Attacks
A senior State Department official told reporters on Tuesday, on condition of anonymity, that the United States government has warned countries around the world to scrutinize diplomats at Iranian embassies and to be vigilant about Iran’s use of its embassies as diplomatic cover for plotting terrorist attacks.
According to this official, Iran’s misuse of Iranian diplomatic missions was previously discussed this week by senior U.S. diplomats with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia.
The official said “we discussed how Iran uses its embassies as cover for planning terrorist attacks,” and added, “the latest example is a plot that was thwarted in Belgium, and we had an Iranian diplomat outside the Iranian embassy in Austria who was part of a plot to bomb a meeting of Iranian opposition leaders in Paris.”
The official stated “the United States is asking all countries to scrutinize diplomats at Iranian embassies to ensure the security of their own countries. If Iran can plot for a bombing in Paris, it can plot for an attack anywhere else in the world, and we are asking all countries to be vigilant about the use of Iranian embassies as diplomatic cover for plotting terrorist attacks.”
According to this official, a delegation of senior State Department officials spent three days in Saudi Arabia to consult with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Interior Minister, Defense Minister, Energy Minister, head of security police, and the intelligence agency chief.
The official said “we went to Saudi Arabia to coordinate increased pressure on Iran. We discussed new ways to deprive the regime of revenues that are used to intimidate its own people and other countries.”
The text of this senior State Department official’s remarks at yesterday’s meeting with reporters was released by the State Department in Washington.
Source: Voice of America
