WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Two suspects have been indicted on charges of plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States, prosecutors in New York said Thursday.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara announced the five-count indictment in a statement. The Justice Department said the charges "mirror those" contained in a criminal complaint filed Oct. 11 against Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri.
No arraignment date was set for Arbabsiar, and Shakuri has not been arrested, the statement said.
President Barack Obama said last week the United States must make sure Iran "pays a price" for its involvement in a plot to kill Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir.
A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Oct. 13 Washington has had contact with Iran since the plot was revealed, but declined to give any details.
"We have had direct contact with Iran. I'm not going to give you any further details than that, but just to say that we have had direct contact [Oct. 12] with Iran on this issue," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.
Obama, speaking with reporters during a White House appearance last week with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, said, "What we know is that an individual of Iranian-American descent was involved in a plot to assassinate the ambassador to the United States from Saudi Arabia."
Obama said U.S. officials had ascertained the suspect "had direct links, was paid by and directed by individuals in the Iranian government."
