Vice president Joe Biden slammed Iran over allegations it conspired to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington in a bomb plot and said the U.S. intended to mobilize world opinion in reaction.
“It is an outrageous act,” said Biden Wednesday on ABC’s Good Morning America. “The Iranians are going to have to be held accountable. And when you see the case presented you will find there is compelling evidence for the assertion being made.”
The U.S. is considering additional sanctions, but “nothing has been taken off the table,” he added.
Biden said the administration intended to share intelligence with other governments to form a unified front against Iran. "The first thing we do is make sure the entire world and all the capitals of the world understand exactly what the Iranians had in mind,” he said.
“It’s an outrage that violates one of the fundamental premises upon which nation's deal with one another, and that is the sanctity and safety of their diplomats. This is really over the top."
Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Tuesday that the Justice Department had charged two men for their role in the plot. One, an American citizen, is in custody, while a second suspect believed to be a member of Iran’s Islamic revolutionary Guard Corps was still at large.
The suspects allegedly told an undercover federal agent who was posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel that they intended to assassinate Saudi ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in a bomb blast. Holder said that organization involved was a “component” of Iran’s military.
The U.S. was "in the process of uniting world public opinion to continuing to isolate and condemn their behavior," Biden stressed.
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