Iran's plot nothing new, Riyadh says

VIENNA, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- An Iranian plot to kill the Saudi envoy to the United States isn't the first time Tehran has taken action against regional adversaries, an official said.

Washington accused Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri of plotting to assassinate Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir in an attack in Washington.

Analysts familiar with Iranian activity said the plot, as relayed by U.S. authorities, is highly unusual. President Barack Obama said, during statements alongside his South Korean counterpart, that "we would not be bringing forward a case unless we knew exactly how to support all the allegations."

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, meanwhile, told reporters in Vienna the latest claims against Iran were nothing new.

"This action is not the first of its kind regarding Iranian intervention in Arab affairs, as Kuwait has arrested Iranian agents, whilst Iran has also interfered in Lebanon, Iraq, and other (Arab) states," he was quoted by London's pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat as saying.

He added Iran was bent on meddling in the affairs of Arab states in order to "create instability" in the region.

The official Saudi Press Agency in early October reported 11 members of the country's security force were injured in an attack on Awwamiya carried out "at the behest of a foreign country."

Stratfor, a private intelligence company in Texas, suggested the statement could be a reference to Iran. Saudi Arabia and Iran are at odds over the Houthi rebellion in the Shiite north of Yemen and the response by the Sunni leadership in Bahrain to a Shiite uprising early this year.