The US accusations that Iran has plotted to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington has fuelled tensions in an already volatile region, and triggered war of words.
"These are false accusations," said Iranian analyst Mohammad Sadek Hussaini. "This is an American game to create regional conflicts" and justify its actions in the region, he told Gulf News.
"If they want to impose a confrontation on Iran, the consequences will be more severe for them," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying yesterday.
Statements coming out of Washington were equally belligerent. "It is an outrageous act, where the Iranians will have to be held accountable," US Vice-President Joe Biden told ABC television. "The first thing we do is make sure the entire world and all of the capitals in the world understand what the Iranians had in mind," Biden said.
The US Justice Department on Tuesday charged two men with conspiring with Iranian officials to assassinate Saudi ambassador Adel Al Jubair.
Commenting on the Iranian denial, Abdul Aziz Al Saqr, head of Gulf Research Centre, said the details can’t be ignored. But if the Iranian government is not fully aware of those details, that means there is a government side and a regime side. Had the plot been successful, Saqr said, the pressure would be shifted from Syria, Iran’s main ally in the region, to Saudi Arabia and the focus will be on the Saudi opposition. Iran will never acknowledge any role in it, he noted.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington, meanwhile described the alleged plot, as "despicable violation of international norms", and thanked US agencies for "preventing a criminal act."
Foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali said the kingdom would soon have a response and a position. "But we are waiting for the investigations to conclude."
