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Saudi envoy plotter Manssor Arbabsiar sentenced to 25 years | Saudi envoy plotter Manssor Arbabsiar sentenced to 25 years |
(about 2 hours later) | |
An Iranian-American man who admitted to plotting the assassination of the Saudi ambassador to the US has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. | An Iranian-American man who admitted to plotting the assassination of the Saudi ambassador to the US has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. |
Car dealer Manssor Arbabsiar, 58, pleaded guilty in October to charges of conspiracy and murder-for-hire. | Car dealer Manssor Arbabsiar, 58, pleaded guilty in October to charges of conspiracy and murder-for-hire. |
He said Iranian military officials sent him to Mexico several times in 2011 to arrange an assassination plot. | |
Prosecutors said he planned to plant a bomb at a Washington DC restaurant, knowing it might cause mass casualties. | Prosecutors said he planned to plant a bomb at a Washington DC restaurant, knowing it might cause mass casualties. |
"Manssor Arbabsiar was an enemy among us," said Preet Bharara, US attorney for the southern district of New York. | "Manssor Arbabsiar was an enemy among us," said Preet Bharara, US attorney for the southern district of New York. |
"But for the vigilance of our FBI and [Drug Enforcement Agency] partners, his plot, and the unspeakable harm it would have caused, may well have come to fruition." | "But for the vigilance of our FBI and [Drug Enforcement Agency] partners, his plot, and the unspeakable harm it would have caused, may well have come to fruition." |
Casualties 'no big deal' | Casualties 'no big deal' |
According to prosecutors, Arbabsiar had described the possibility of civilian casualties as "no big deal", in conversations with an undercover government agent. | According to prosecutors, Arbabsiar had described the possibility of civilian casualties as "no big deal", in conversations with an undercover government agent. |
Defence lawyers said the crime, although serious, was "entirely aberrational" and brought on by mental illness. | Defence lawyers said the crime, although serious, was "entirely aberrational" and brought on by mental illness. |
It was "the result of a severe mental breakdown caused by a longstanding, untreated bipolar disorder, worsened by the death of his father and his best friend in the same year," defence lawyers said. | It was "the result of a severe mental breakdown caused by a longstanding, untreated bipolar disorder, worsened by the death of his father and his best friend in the same year," defence lawyers said. |
They had asked for a maximum sentence of 10 years, saying the defendant had no other ties to terror networks nor to Iranian political figures. | They had asked for a maximum sentence of 10 years, saying the defendant had no other ties to terror networks nor to Iranian political figures. |
Arbabsiar said Iranian military officials, including members of the Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, were involved in the plot, prosecutors said. | Arbabsiar said Iranian military officials, including members of the Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, were involved in the plot, prosecutors said. |
In Mexico, Arbabsiar met a US government agent posing as a member of a violent Mexican drug cartel, later sending $100,000 to the undercover agent as an initial payment for the murder, prosecutors said. | In Mexico, Arbabsiar met a US government agent posing as a member of a violent Mexican drug cartel, later sending $100,000 to the undercover agent as an initial payment for the murder, prosecutors said. |
Arbabsiar had been living in the state of Texas since moving to the US in 1977. | Arbabsiar had been living in the state of Texas since moving to the US in 1977. |
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