As the Obama administration pushes for new sanctions on Iran, widespread doubts are emerging about the plot and the U.S. claims of Iranian government involvement. According to the Washington Post, the scheme was so poorly organized that investigators had major doubts from the beginning of their probe. One U.S. official said the transparent actions of the suspects, including a $100,000 wire transfer from Iran, were “inconsistent with the high [Iranian intelligence] standards we’ve seen in the past.” Gary Sick, an Iran expert and former National Security Council official, said: “It is difficult to believe that [Iran] would rely on a non-Islamic criminal gang to carry out this most sensitive of all possible missions. In this instance, they allegedly relied on at least one amateur and a Mexican criminal drug gang that is known to be riddled with both Mexican and U.S. intelligence agents. … Whatever else may be Iran’s failings, they are not noted for utter disregard of the most basic intelligence tradecraft.” Some experts have speculated the plot was staged by opponents of the Iranian government in order to frame Tehran.