UN Deplores Plot Against Saudi Ambassador

In a decisive vote, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution introduced by Saudi Arabia condemning terrorism in all its forms and acts of violence against diplomats, as well as deploring the disrupted plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States.

The resolution called upon the Islamic Republic of Iran "to fulfill its obligations under international law. . . .and to cooperate with states seeking to bring to justice all those who participated in the planning, sponsoring, organization and attempted execution of the plot."

The assassination plot came to light in October, when top U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials said they foiled a scheme, directed and approved by senior members of Iran's Quds Force, to hire a member of a Mexican drug cartel to murder Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubier for 1.5 million dollars. Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Iran has been arrested. A second man, Gholam Shakuri, a Quds force official, is also wanted by the U.S. in connection with the plot, but he remains at large.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement that the resolution adopted by the U.N. General Assembly "sent a strong message to the Iranian regime that the international community cannot and will not tolerate assaults on its diplomatic corps. The targeting of another nation's diplomats is not just a threat to that nation, it is a threat to the international system," she said.

Susan Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations noted that 106 countries voted in favor of the resolution, and only nine, including Iran, opposed it. "Iran," she said, "is increasingly isolated here in this body at the United Nations. . . .I think this is indicative of the world's growing abhorrence of their behavior, including their support for terrorism, their pursuit of a nuclear weapons program, and their gross violations of human rights."