In a case that reads like a spy novel, a U.S.-Iranian citizen was charged in New York with plotting with an Iranian special operations officer to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., the Christian Science Monitor reports. The alleged plot – code named “Chevrolet” – involved a promised $1.5 million payment to an associate of a violent drug cartel in Mexico who suggested he would plant an explosive device in the ambassador's favorite restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Based on that promise, a $100,000 down payment was wired through a bank in New York City. What the alleged Iranian conspirators did not know is that their would-be assassin was an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. The plot never developed beyond mere talk. Attorney General Eric Holder said the U.S. would seek to hold Iran “accountable for its actions.” He added, “This conspiracy was conceived, was sponsored, and was directed from Iran, and constitutes a flagrant violation of US and international law.”