Foiled Iranian Death Plot Reads Like A Spy Novel

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In The Media

Foiled Iranian Death Plot Reads Like A Spy Novel

The alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, while inconsistent with past Iranian actions, could have been driven by regional rivalries between Tehran and Riyadh.

By Karim Sadjadpour

Published on Oct 13, 2011

Source: NPR

Speaking on NPR, Carnegie’s Karim Sadjadpour noted that an alleged foiled plot by members of the Iranian Quds force to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States “seems to be inconsistent with past operations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.” In the past, he explained, the Revolutionary Guards would carry out operations in places that they knew they could get away with it, like in South America. Furthermore, they typically have not worked with non-Muslim proxies like the Mexican drug cartel allegedly involved in the plot.

Yet while the plan does not seem to be consistent with past Iranian actions, “there is a great deal of antipathy between Riyadh and Tehran,” suggested Sadjadpour, and such tension could be seen as a catalyst for the assassination attempt. He concluded that attacking the Saudi ambassador to the United States while he is in Washington could be an effort to defy both the Saudis and the United States.

About the Author

Karim Sadjadpour

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

Recent Work

Q&A
What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for Now
- Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright
Q&A
How Washington and Tehran Are Assessing Their Next Steps
- Aaron David Miller, David Petraeus, Karim Sadjadpour

Security Middle East Iran Saudi Arabia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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