Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says the fact that Iranian-American Mansour Arbabsiar has pleaded guilty one year after his arrest indicates the severity of psychological pressures in US prisons, Press TV reported.
"When this ridiculous scenario was planned by American officials one year ago, not only the arrested person denied all charges, but some of the US officials and political analysts also described it as unreal and similar to a Hollywood scenario," Ramin Mehmanparast said on Saturday.
Mehmanparast added that Arbabsiar pleading guilty after one year indicates the unusual situation, psychological pressures, and condition of solitary confinement in US prisons.
Arbabsiar was arrested at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on September 29, 2011, on charges of planning to assassinate Saudi Ambassador to the US Adel al-Jubeir in a bomb attack at a restaurant in Washington.
He was arraigned and appeared before New York Federal Court on October 24, 2011, entering a not guilty plea.
On October 17, 2012, however, Arbabsiar entered a surprise guilty plea in US District Court in Manhattan. The defendant's lawyer rejected the charges stating that his client is mentally ill.
The US claims that Arbabsiar has links with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. But Iranian authorities have strongly rejected the allegation, saying Washington has failed to substantiate its claims with any proof.