According to a senior U.S. official (via the CNN news blog) the FBI and DEA collaborated to disrupt an Iranian plot to commit an act of terror within the sovereign boundaries of the United States. According to this official, the alleged plan was orchestrated by the Iranian government and involved a plot to kill Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

According to the complaint filed before a federal court in NY, the plot involved bombing a restaurant that was regularly frequented by the Saudi ambassador.

Obviously, the ramifications of this alleged conspiracy will have enormous implications. This would represent the first attempt by a sovereign nation to perpetrate an act of terror on US soil. The friction between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Shi’a theocracy will be dramatically exacerbated.

This is a  developing story… the White House response will undoubtedly prove delicate.

UPDATE: It is now being reported that the plot included bomb attacks on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, DC. Manssor Arbabsiar allegedly told a DEA informant that his marching order were being “directed by high-ranking members of the Iranian government,” and that he had sought assistance from a notorious Mexican drug cartel to carry out the attack. Although reminiscent of a Tom Clancy novel, this is the world we live in — where transnational threats to American security blend sovereign enemies with narco-terror, and murderous cowards will savage American civilians to murder foreign dignitaries.