Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
October 12, 2011
That “Iranian” Plot Is Nonsense

The Obama administration is offering us this Hollywood movie script. I do not believe a word of it. It makes no sense at all. Iranian officials agreeing on such a flimsy plot? Never. This is just another entrapment fantasy by the ignore-the-constitution organization of AG Holder.

The United States on Tuesday accused Iranian officials of plotting to murder Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in a bizarre scheme involving an Iranian-American used-car salesman who believed he was hiring assassins from a Mexican drug cartel for $1.5 million.

The alleged plot also included plans to pay the cartel, Los Zetas, to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina, according to a law enforcement official.

The plotters also discussed a side deal between the Quds Force, part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Los Zetas to funnel tons of opium from the Middle East to Mexico, the official said. The plans never progressed, though, because the two suspects — the Iranian-American and an Iranian Quds Force officer — unwittingly were dealing with an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration, officials said.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who announced the murder plot at a news conference in Washington, said it was “directed and approved by elements of the Iranian government and, specifically, senior members of the Quds Force.” He added that “high-up officials in those agencies, which is an integral part of the Iranian government, were responsible for this plot.”

Emptywheel looks at the the details the criminal complaint and also thinks this is utter bull****.

Soma reasons why this doesn't add up:

  • The current political situation isn't bad for Iran. Why mess this up?
  • The Los Zetas cartell is a business that hates to be disturbed by U.S. law enforcement. Why agree to such a deal which would make it a target for just $1.5 million when the real business makes billions. Iran knowns this and would not work with such a group.
  • Iranian secret service using a phone call to the U.S. to talk about an assassination plot?
  • Iranian secret service wiring money from a known Quds Force account to the U.S.?
  • Why smuggle raw opium when you can easily make and smuggle the higher value product heroin?

I judge this to be an attempt to divert from #OccupyWallStreet and the general economic situation.

This does not mean that it is irrelevant. Some Congress folks and the Zionist lobby will certainly use this and try to incite war against Iran.

Comments

I think the Hollywood movie script-writers should feel insulted. Bad as they are, even they wouldn’t come up with something soo superficial.
b. wrote:

Some Congress folks and the Zionist lobby will certainly use this and try to incite war against Iran

You might add the Saoudi lobby to that. Would help justify more the repression in Bahrain and against unrest / protests in S.A itself (there were a few reports about that in the past few days, iirc, but strangely not in the Western MSM).

Posted by: philippe | Oct 12 2011 4:24 utc | 1

“Ex-CIA agent warns US ‘dangerously wrong’ on Iran.”
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2011/s3337625.htm
The agent is Robert Baer and in the interview above he makes a compelling case that ‘dangerously stupid’ would be a more accurate description than ‘dangerously wrong’.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 12 2011 4:37 utc | 2

Justine Raimondo analyses the assassination story here, and says it is not even good propaganda.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/10/11/iranian-terror-plot-fake-fake-fake/
He adds at the end that the story appears to be unravelling.

Posted by: Northern Night Owl | Oct 12 2011 5:10 utc | 3

Probably also an attempt to take some steam out of the Fast and Furious Fiasco fulminations of Issa.

Posted by: Biklett | Oct 12 2011 6:31 utc | 4

You can believe me about this dastardly Iran Plot. Was I lying about the Iraqi Nuclear bombs ??. Did I ever lie to you.? Uncle Sam

Posted by: boindub | Oct 12 2011 9:12 utc | 5

You can believe me about this dastardly Iran Plot. Was I lying about the Iraqi Nuclear bombs ??. Did I ever lie to you.? Uncle Sam

Posted by: boindub | Oct 12 2011 9:12 utc | 6

Skimming through the comments on German news sites there are hardly 5%, even on right wing sites, who believe this plot is real. U.S. newsreaders seem to take this more seriously. I wonder why.

Posted by: b | Oct 12 2011 9:14 utc | 7

Could this have anything to do with Ahmadinejad’s recent phone call to Karzai, and his visit next month to Pakistan to take part in a tri-lateral summit?
Ahmadinejad Urges Continued Meetings among Iranian, Pakistani, Afghan Leaders

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed the need for continued consultations among the three neighboring states of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying that such discussions facilitate regional convergence and understanding.
The issue was raised during a telephone conversation between President Ahmadinejad and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Monday evening.
“Enemies never want to see friendship and brotherhood in the region and we should do our best to bring hearts and thoughts closer to each other,” he noted.
He also extended his condolences to Hamid Karzai over the martyrdom of former Afghan President and Head of Afghanistan’s High Council of Peace Burhanuddin Rabbani, and said his assassination proved that enemies never want to see peace and tranquility in the region and Afghanistan.
Earlier Media reports said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is likely to visit Pakistan next month to participate in the trilateral summit of Iranian, Afghan and Pakistani Presidents.
The schedule including the dates was finalized for the next meeting of the Presidents Asif Ali Zardari, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hamid Karzai. The three leaders had agreed in the last meeting in June this year to expand and strengthen trilateral cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region.
The first trilateral meeting of the Iranian, Afghan and Pakistani presidents was held in Tehran in 2010 followed by a second meeting in Kabul, in June, 2011.

More commentary on the above story
Tehran dilutes Delhi-Kabul pact

Posted by: amar | Oct 12 2011 9:30 utc | 8

@2, we’re quite capable of locating the “bullshit” without the aid of Ex-CIA Officers. Once CIA, always CIA, meaning thereis no such thing as ex when it comes to that organization. Just ask Colby, and the countless others.
I agree, b, this is complete nonsense, and crafted for a crowd with an average IQ under 100…….in otherwords, the average “American.”

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 12 2011 11:06 utc | 9

Also of note, is that the major network news is referring to this as a “terrorist” plot. Since when is assassinating a foreign dignitary a “terrorist” plot? Oh, that’s right, the “terrorist” label is levied depending on who the alleged perps are. If it’s Iran, which in this case and many others it clearly isn’t and wasn’t, then it is de facto terrorism whereas if it’s…say…the U.S., it is de facto Regime Change for Democracy.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 12 2011 12:12 utc | 10

amar – Could this have anything to do with Ahmadinejad’s recent phone call to Karzai, and his visit next month to Pakistan to take part in a tri-lateral summit?
Has probably more to do with Ahmedinejad’s recently repeated offer to exchange the 20% Uranium.

Posted by: b | Oct 12 2011 12:24 utc | 11

Hillary Mann Leverett, who worked during the Clinton and early Bush years as Director for Persian Gulf Affairs on the National Security Council was on Al Jaazera and called the allegations “thin”. She also mentioned that during the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980’s Saudi Arabia funded Iraq forces and yet Iran never once targeted any Saudi in retaliation. She also mentioned that the National Security Council is planning a “retaliation” against Iran.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj8NvFw-7P0&feature=player_embedded
Also on Mondoweiss, Jasmin Ramsey, asks some other intresting questions. Like why is this guys “Iranian general cousin” unnamed in the court papers and why did this person call his cousin while in FBI custody. Also why would the Iranian government if it was conducting such a mission hand it off to an Iranian-American with no military training to plan and why would they discuss the plot to hit embassies in Washington DC over a mobile phone?
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/10/some-preliminary-questions-about-the-alleged-iranian-terror-plot.html#more-54375
Anyway in short no serious person should believe any of this. BTW on Eric Holder the attorney general who presented this lets not forget he made his name representing Chiquita when it was accused of running death squads in Colombia.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/lawyer-for-chiquita-in-co_b_141919.html

Posted by: Colm O’ Toole | Oct 12 2011 13:08 utc | 12

from the NYT article:
The Saudi Embassy in Washington denounced the plot against the ambassador, Adel al-Jubeir, as “a despicable violation of international norms, standards and conventions.”
Ha ha ha, choke, splutter. What about illegal wars killing millions and extra-judicial assassinations?
Besides that, used car salesmen, Mexican drug cartels, and so on – the stuff of unpublished novels…even a Hollywood movie would not go that far…
All such garbage is to induce ppl to enter a fictional world, where any story that comes from some Authority can fly, and where movies and the blue screen replace reality and channel popular sentiment. Obviously the movie moguls are not getting with it, so to speak – problem is that they have customers who pay for theatre seats and DVDs.
So the NYT is trying to do betta’, reversing the traditional movie-print distinctions, not on its own of course, but as coerced from on high.. 😉

Posted by: Noirette | Oct 12 2011 13:21 utc | 13

ELEANOR HALL: If it’s not Iran behind this assassination plot, what are the possibilities?
ROBERT BAER: You could have an individual claiming it’s the Iranian government, an Iranian radical. You might actually have a radical in Tehran attempting to frame the government.

How possible is this?
From link at #2.

Posted by: jawbone | Oct 12 2011 13:30 utc | 14

@4.
Biklett’s explanation of the origins of the Iran plot strikes a chord. Holder is one step from being up to his nostrils in deep doo-doo for lying to Congress about what he knew about gun-running to Mexican drug cartels.
CBS also seem more interested in Holder’s lying about Mexico than his making stuff up about Iran.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/11/earlyshow/main20118456.shtml

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 12 2011 13:30 utc | 15

I also like the bit about the Iranian cutout supposedly bragging to his hitman that “no, no, this is the Iranian government sponsoring this hit, and it is perfectly happy if you kill a bunch of Americans.” The whole point of using people who work for cash is that you don’t have to explain your reasons. Those monologue scenes explaining the dastardly villian’s plans (telling the audience the backstory while giving the hero time to escape from the apparently hopeless situation) occur pretty much only in movies, not in real life.

Posted by: Bill | Oct 12 2011 14:18 utc | 16

This appears to be an attempt by the FBI to gauge the stupidity of the American people. As it stands now, the media will swallow anything–absolutely anything–hook, line and sinker. And it looks like a huge swaths of the American people will, too.
As a result, we can look forward to a series of “terrorist” attacks, each more outrageous and implausible than the previous.

Posted by: JohnH | Oct 12 2011 14:52 utc | 17

Interesting answer to the question “Why? And why now?”
The Iran-Saudi Assassination “Hoax?”

Saudi Arabia’s position in the region today is so poor that it holds the distinction of being labeled the “Counter-revolution” state for its aggressive attempts to roll back these popular revolts. The Saudis spirited away to safety Tunisian dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali after his ousting, fought with Washington over its dwindling support of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak, rolled troops into Bahrain to violently quell protests, poured money into the coffers of corrupt monarchs from Jordan to Morocco, and are backing the immensely unpopular Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh against all odds.
So, how could the US fulfill those previously-approved weapon sales to Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf-Cooperation Council (GCC) autocracies without taking a global bashing?
Easy stuff: manufacture an “Iranian” threat and make the image-challenged Saudis look like victims desperately in need of protection.

Posted by: b | Oct 12 2011 14:59 utc | 18

Clinton said this plot cooked up by Iran to assassinate a Saudi ambassador was stranger than fiction. IMHO it is strange fiction.
I guess that the Obama Administration thought that if they made it strange enough, the American people might believe it. I’ve been expecting our Zionist overlords to plant a false flag on American soil in order to trick us into getting into a war with Iran. And I’m sure that our Zionist overlords will be giving Eric Holder a big pat on the back for arming the Mexican cartel well enough to make this “Iranian” plot believable to most Americans glued to the boob tube.
It seems to me that since this story involves both Iran and Mexico, two figures that Americans so greatly fear, all we have to do is stir them together and treat ourselves to a Gulf of Tonkin incident. Talk about using a cookbook to cook up a war against a cooked-up enemy!

Posted by: Cynthia | Oct 12 2011 15:30 utc | 19

without taking a global bashing?
Speaking of nonsense, this is more of it. A Global Bashing from whom? Seriously…China? Russia? Ooh……scary, the U.S. doesn’t want to have their reputation besmirched with these two game-changers, so they concoct some hair-brained, half-baked subterfuge to sneak in some weapons sales. Give me a break, please.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 12 2011 15:56 utc | 20

@17, especially when you consider that PBS aired the Frontline program about the FBI and the Anthrax attacks last night. I’m convinced that the FBI and the CIA are front foils for more competent and unofficial “agencies/organizations.” It’s the only thing that makes sense.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 12 2011 15:59 utc | 21

So AG Holder is pulling a Colin Powell!!!
some amuzing background on the alegged plotter;
http://www.caller.com/news/2011/oct/11/terror-suspects-friends-arbabsiar-likely-involved/
this stands out to this mickey mouse nonsense//
“The first sheriff’s office officials heard of Arbabsiar’s arrest was through the news, Kaelin said.
The office has not received any correspondence from federal authorities about their investigation into Arbabsiar or his ties to Corpus Christi, Kaelin said.”

Posted by: Rd. | Oct 12 2011 20:26 utc | 22

it’s also nice of Clinton to share with us the Us programs for the next wars:

Clinton said Tuesday’s revelations would reinforce those concerns as well as worries about Iran’s attempts to gain influence in Latin America. She and other officials have noted in the past that Iran is trying to make inroads in Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Posted by: claudio | Oct 12 2011 21:18 utc | 23

really, their scriptwriting at each turn in american administrations are beyond ridiculous, like bad 50’s american television
how low will they go

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Oct 12 2011 22:19 utc | 24

how low will they go
This low?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNZocat6NJE
Any lower is Less Than Zero and heading for −273 °C.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 12 2011 22:55 utc | 25