Following a months-long investigation, the Department of Justice has announced the existence of a well-funded plot "conceived, sponsored and directed" by "high-ranking members of the Iranian government" to assassinate Saudi Arabian ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir on U.S. soil in conjunction with informants in Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas. The "Hollywood" plot, revealed in an afternoon press conference and described in a detailed 21-page complaint [PDF], is alleged to have involved an attack on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, D.C. One suspect, naturalized American citizen Arbab Arbabsiar, has been arrested, while co-conspirator and Quds Force member Gholam Shakuri remains at large. Iranian officials were quick to label the charges a "fabrication" intended to distract from America's economic troubles.
posted by Rhaomi on Oct 11, 2011 - 251 comments

Newsfilter: Israel has recalled its ambassador to El Salvador after he was found drunk and naked apart from bondage gear. Reports say he was able to identify himself to police only after a rubber ball had been removed from his mouth. Oy! More here. This isn't the first time an Israeli ambassador has gotten in trouble, either. Previously on Metafilter: The Swedish Art Incident
posted by zarq on Mar 12, 2007 - 67 comments

Newsfilter: Bush and America are now perceived to be more dangerous than Kim Jong-il according to an international opinion poll published by the Guardian Newspaper. Perhaps more interesting than that, it shows that only 1 in 4 people in Israel think that Bush has made the world safer - a fairly small percentage for a country that is traditionally one of America's staunchest allies when it comes to national security...
posted by Mave_80 on Nov 3, 2006 - 90 comments

Israel's tourism minister assasinated by palestinian militants. Could this even further slow down peace talks between leaders? Or must we brace ourselves for the second year of this conflict?
posted by Robin on Oct 17, 2001 - 36 comments

I'm somewhat surprised that no one has yet posted anything about this (see also here and here, etc). My heart leapt last night when I heard this on NPR. All I could think of was that perhaps the five to six thousand seemingly-senseless deaths in our country will eventually, somehow, some way, end up saving at least that many Israeli and Palestinian lives - perhaps even pave the road to permanent peace. Perhaps some good can come of this, amidst all the pain. Am I a hopeless optimist?
posted by anastasiav on Sep 19, 2001 - 12 comments

"Shut the gates! Shut the gates!" Yasser Arafat... willing participant, or kidnap victim? In all seriousness, I think the real problem now is that all sides are represented by drama queens.
posted by aurelian on Oct 4, 2000 - 4 comments