Iran denies alleged assassination plot

Iranian officials on Wednesday strongly rejected the U.S. accusations that the Islamic Republic had plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel A Al-Jubeir

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said that the new anti-Iran scenario initiated by the United States is "clumsy," the official IRNA news agency reported.

Washington will be compelled to apologize to Tehran for its " unfounded allegation" against Iran, the minister said, adding that "Our friends in the Persian Gulf region are familiar with these devilish conspiracies."

"We enjoy good ties with Saudi Arabia," Salehi said at the sidelines of Wednesday' cabinet meeting, noting that the best way to respond to Washington is disregarding and ignoring such allegations.

On Tuesday, the U.S. authorities said that two men, Manssor Arbabsayar, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen holding both the Iranian and U.S. passports, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iranian citizen, were charged with sponsoring and promoting terrorist activities abroad, including a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Iran's Majlis ( parliament) Ali Larijani said Wednesday that the U.S. accusations are "immature," the state IRIB TV website reported.

The United States has "acted immaturely in its latest childish game against Iran," Larijani was quoted as saying.

Commenting on U.S. authorities' claims, Larijani said at the Majlis open session that "The United States is to hide its internal problems by putting forward baseless claims through massive media coverage against Iran."

The United State wants to create crises for regional states in order to conceal its new economic problems, he was quoted as saying.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi denounced on Wednesday the U.S. anti-Iran publicity campaign, saying that such measures are "aimed at sowing discord in the region," according to the English-language satellite Press TV.

Qashqavi deplored the U.S. allegations regarding Tehran's involvement in the plot and described the "unfounded claims" as part of a new "propaganda scenario" against Tehran, said the report.

Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Swiss charge d'affaires on Wednesday to protest against Washington's accusations.

The chief of Iranian Foreign Ministry's North America office told the Swiss charge d'affaires that Iran condemns the "worthless claims of the U.S. government and warns against such political propaganda."

In the past three decades "the Islamic Republic has been the victim of terrorist acts of the terrorist groups which were supported by the United States," the official was quoted by IRIB as saying.

The Swiss charge d'affaires said Iran's protest will be transferred to the U.S. government and their response will be returned to Iran.

The Swiss embassy in Tehran represents the U.S. interests in Iran since Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic relations in 1980.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday rejected the U.S. accusations, saying that the U.S. accusations are "incorrect" and "prefabricated scenario."

Such kinds of allegations are "ridiculous shows" that aimed at creating discord among the regional countries, the spokesman said.

On Tuesday, Iran ambassador to the UN forwarded a letter of complaint to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, voicing outrage over the U.S. allegations against the Islamic Republic.

In the letter, the Iranian envoy, Mohammad Khazaei, said that " The Iranian nation seeks a world free from terrorism and considers the current U.S. warmongering and propaganda machine (working) against Iran as a threat not just against Iran but to the peace and stability in the Persian Gulf region," according to Press TV.

The U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that the United States will consult with its partners on how to send a strong message to Iran in response to the alleged assassination attempts on the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Clinton said in a statement the alleged murder attempts violate international norms, and "must be ended", vowing that measures to "further isolate" Iran from the international community will also be considered.

Also, U.S. authorities issued a statement, saying that "The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens of the potential for anti- U.S. actions following the disruption of a plot, linked to Iran, to commit a significant terrorist act in the United States."

The Saudi embassy in Washington on Tuesday thanked the United States for preventing the alleged assassination attempt on the Saudi ambassador.

"Plot to assassinate ambassador is a despicable violation of international norms, standards, conventions, not in accord with principles of humanity," the embassy said on its Tweeter account.