The Obama administration has accused Iranian government agents of plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States. One of the alleged agents is a member of Iran’s special foreign actions unit known as the Quds Force. U.S. Department of Justice officials say the men tried to hire a purported member of a Mexican drug cartel to carry out the assassination with a bomb attack while the ambassador, Adel al-Jubeir, dined at his favorite restaurant in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder unveiled the indictments against two suspects charged in a New York federal court.

Attorney General Eric Holder: “The complaint alleges that this conspiracy was conceived, was sponsored, and was directed from Iran and constitutes a flagrant violation of U.S. and international law, including a convention that explicitly protects diplomats from being harmed. In addition to holding these individual conspirators accountable for their alleged role in this plot, the United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions. Arbabsiar and Shakuri are charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, and conspiracy to commit an act of international terrorism, among other charges.”

The Iranian government has rejected the allegations, calling them a “childish, amateur game.”