Tehran condemns U.S. sentence for Iranian over alleged murder plot against Saudi envoy

TEHRAN,June 1(MNA) – Tehran on Friday condemned the sentencing of an Iranian-American citizen by a U.S. court to 25 years in prison over allegations of his participation in a plot to murder the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi described the verdict as “another step in line with Iranophobia project led by the United States.” According to Reuters, Mansour Arbabsiar, 58, received the sentence at a hearing on Thursday. Araqchi described the claims of a terror plot as a “false” and “farcical” scenario, saying that “issuing such verdicts once again has undermined the independence of the judiciary apparatus in the U.S. for political goals.” Arbabsiar was arrested at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on September 29, 2011. Arbabsiar’s lawyers had sought a lower sentence of 10 years, arguing that he had provided assistance to U.S. authorities after his arrest and citing that he was suffering from mental disorders. In addition to his prison sentence, Arbabsiar was ordered to forfeit $125,000.