Federal officials say two people have been charged in connection with a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States.
Attorney General Eric Holder says the two men, identified as Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri, are also charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.
The criminal complaint was filed today in the Southern District of New York.
Federal officials say Arbabsiar, 56, a naturalized U.S. citizen holding both Iranian and U.S. passports, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on September 29.
He is due in federal court in Lower Manhattan this afternoon.
Shakuri, who is said to be a member of an Iranian special operations unit, remains at large.
Holder says the plot was conceived, sponsored and directed from Iran and the suspect in custody has confessed to the planned attack.
The plot was described by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Preet Bharara as the opening shot in a series of well-funded terrorist attacks in the US.
Both men face life sentences in prison if convicted of all the charges.
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