Whether or not Iran’s leadership knew about the alleged plot to assassinate a Saudi ambassador in Washington, they should be held accountable in any event, President Obama insisted on Thursday.

 

Skeptical backlash from Iran experts on the US government’s official narrative of the plot has led Obama to justify punishing Iran, even if the doubters are right and the Iranian government had no knowledge of it. ”Even if at the highest levels there was not detailed operational knowledge, there has to be accountability with respect to anybody in the Iranian government engaging in this kind of activity,” he said.