Wednesday, October 12, 2011

US: 'We are working with our allies and at the UN to continue to isolate Iran'

The White House said today it was taking "no options off the table" in dealing with Iran after US authorities broke up an alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, but that US policy was focussed on pressing sanctions on Tehran.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the United States was working with its allies and at the United Nations "to continue to isolate Iran."

Earlier, US Vice President Joe Biden today said Iran would be held accountable for the alleged plot and that the Obama administration is working to unite world opinion behind a possible US response.

"It is an outrageous act where the Iranians are going to have to be held accountable," Biden told ABC's "Good Morning America" television program.

"It's an outrage that violates one of the fundamental premises upon which nations deal with one another and that is the sanctity and safety of their diplomats."

Biden said the administration is working to unite world powers behind a universal response by showing international partners "exactly what the Iranians had in mind."

He said international unity was vital "so that whatever action ultimately is taken, whether it's additional sanctions, some of which we've already taken, and nothing has been taken off the table ... it's not the United States against Iran."

US Attorney General Eric Holder alleged that the plot was the work of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the guardian of Iran's 32-year-old revolution, and the Quds force, its covert, operational arm.