Was Attack on Riyadh's Tehran Embassy a False Flag?

Stephen Lendman

Iran continues investigating the January 2 attack on Riyadh's Tehran embassy. Last weekend, its judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi said arrests were made.

Some suspects were released, one believed responsible for arranging the attack still in custody, Ejehi saying:

"We are investigating "whether he and his followers were alone in carrying out the (attack) or if others were involved."

Straightaway after the incident, President Hassan Rohani ordered an "immediate investigation" into what happened.

It followed Riyadh's extrajudicial execution of Sheik Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others, mostly by beheadings.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced cut diplomatic ties with Tehran - using the pretext of Iranians storming its embassy, giving the nation's diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Saudi ones returned home straightaway.

Rohani denounced the "unjustified" attack, blaming extremists at the time, wanting them identified and prosecuted.

A Revolutionary Guard statement said "(b)y no means can this ugly act be justified."

Was it spontaneous or pre-planned, instigated by outside forces? Evidence suggests it, according to Hossein Sheikholeslam, Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly member, parliament speaker advisor on international affairs, and ambassador to Syria.

Interviewed by Sputnik News, he explained an investigation into the incident remains ongoing, saying:

"We acknowledge that the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran was a big mistake, and state that all those responsible will be punished."

He expressed disappointment with Riyadh's response, stressing:

"One gets the impression that it's as if they knew and expected that such an event would happen, so that they could react like that - cut diplomatic ties. As a result, the situation has only been exacerbated, which is not useful for resolving a series of crises in the region."

Iranian embassies were attacked, including Riyadh terror-bombing its Sana'a, Yemen facility, an act of war, wounding a number of embassy staff, a far more serious incident than the Tehran one.

Iran's Judiciary spokesman Ejehi said anti-Iranian incidents are largely ignored. No one investigates them the way Tehran handles these things, examining them thoroughly, getting to the bottom of what happened.

Evidence uncovered on the January 2 incident indicates "the enemy has used some simple-minded elements (involved in) violat(ing) the Saudi embassy," he said.

"The official results of the investigation will be announced later. But according to the information which I have now, there is proof that foreign nationals were, in fact, involved."

Did Riyadh orchestrate what happened as a pretext for cutting diplomatic ties and escalating anti-Iranian activities? Were Washington and Israel involved?

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

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