The story recalled the arrest in the United States of an Iranian-American from Texas last October. He is charged with trying to hire a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubair.
The Arabic daily Al-Hayat Tuesday quoted Sami Jamal, the legal aide at the Saudi embassy in Cairo, as saying the plot was foiled three months ago.
The three Iranians were not named and the Egyptian government has not yet confirmed the story.
Jamal said Egypt notified Saudi Arabia of the arrests, but the Saudi government opted to remain silent. He indicated there was concern that Iran might try to spark demonstrations outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo as a cover for attacks on diplomats.
Jamal didn’t say why he was revealing the plot at this point in time. However, on Saturday Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Cairo after angry protests outside it protesting the arrest in Saudi Arabia of an Egyptian human rights lawyer.
In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast denied any such Iranian scheme. “Such plots, which can sow discord in the Muslim world, are devised and pursued to serve the interests of the Zionist regime and to start a new political game in the region,” he said.