Man pleads guilty in plot to kill Saudi ambassador

By NBC's Pete Williams and Jonathan Dienst Nueces County Sheriff Mansour Arbabsiar is seen in a 2001 booking photo after he was charged for check fraud. The man charged with plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. "I take responsibility for my actions," said Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen with an Iranian passport. When asked in court Wednesday if Iranian military officials were also involved in the plot, Arbabsiar answered "Yes." When Arbabsiar's arrest was announced last year, President Barack Obama's administration accused the Iranian government of being behind the planned assassination of Ambassador Adel al Jubeir in Washington. The press attache at Iran's mission to the United Nations then called the accusation "baseless." Authorities say Arbabsiar earlier admitted his role in a $1.5 million plot to kill the ambassador at a restaurant by setting off explosives. He was indicted last October. See the original story at NBCNewYork.com | More from NBCNewYork.com The terms of Arbabsiar's plea deal are unknown. Sentencing is scheduled Jan. 23. A second person, Gholam Shakuri, was charged in the plot but remains at large in Iran. The Justice Department said Shakuri is an Iran-based member of Iran's Qods Force, which is a special operations unit of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that is said to sponsor and promote terrorist activities abroad.     More content from NBCNews.com: Stray anti-military vibes reverberate as thousands of vets head to college Video: Family, friends remember Jessica Ridgeway at memorial Five bodies found at scene of Denver bar fire Jogger killed in police shootout in California Fastest US land animal, the pronghorn, gets help crossing highway Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook