Zarif Confirms Riyadh Plot to Assassinate Senior Iranians

Local Editor

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has confirmed that Saudi officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman [MBS] plotted to assassinate senior Iranian officials, according to an interview he made with London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed.

"Tehran had credible information on this," Zarif said, referring to a report published on Sunday in The New York Times that detailed a plan to hire private operatives to kill "Iranian enemies of Saudi Arabia".

Among the targets was notorious Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, according to the US newspaper.

The meeting brought together businessmen that also “pitched a $2 billion plan to use private intelligence operatives to sabotage the Iranian economy,” read the Times report released.

As the meeting came at a time that MBS was consolidating his power in the kingdom, the report concluded that planning for assassinations, like that of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, started “since the beginning of Prince Mohammed’s ascent.”

Zarif further exemplified other atrocities by the Saudi government, including support for terrorism, attacking Yemen as well as blockading Qatar and kidnapping Lebanese Prime minister Saad Hariri.

"All the world has opened its eyes to what Riyadh is doing such as blockading Qatar, bombing Yemen, detaining the prime minister of Lebanon and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi," Zarif said.

This is while the US has emerged as a passionate supporter of the monarchy ever since President Donald Trump appeared in office.

Trump has also withdrawn Washington from the internationally backed nuclear deal with Tehran and re-imposed illegal sanctions on Tehran.

The Trump administration announced the sanctions on November 5 to target Iran's banking and energy sectors with the aim of cutting off its oil sales and crucial exports.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team