Iranian-American citizen Manssor Arbabsiar pleaded guilty on Wednesday to plotting with the Iranian military to kill the Saudi ambassador to United States, Al Arabiya reported.
Texas man has entered a surprise guilty plea to charges that he plotted to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir. Arbabsiar, who appeared at the New York federal court where he had been due to stand trial, can be sentenced for 25 years in prison in the trial scheduled for Jan. 23.
Arbabsiar had been charged in a $1.5 million plot to kill the ambassador at a restaurant by setting off explosives.
President Barack Obama's administration has accused agents of the Iranian government of being involved in the plot.
The press attaché at Iran's mission to the United Nations has called the accusation "baseless."
Defense lawyers say Arbabsiar suffers from bipolar disorder.
Arbabsiar, who is a U.S. citizen with an Iranian passport, was arrested Sept. 29, 2011, at Kennedy International Airport.