Jordan and Kuwait also blasted the alleged Iran-backed plot on Thursday.
William Hague told lawmakers that Britain was working with the US, Saudi Arabia and others to agree on a tough international response to the purported plan to assassinate the envoy in a bombing while he dined at his favorite Washington restaurant.
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said many lives could have been lost in the plot to kill Saudi envoy Adel Al-Jubeir The plot appeared to be a “major escalation of Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism outside its borders,” Hague told the House of Commons in a statement on the Middle East.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said in a statement: “Jordan categorically rejects and strongly denounces the targeting of any Saudi official or national symbol.”
“Jordan has a clear and principled attitude that considers the security, welfare and interests of the brethren Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a red line,” he said and called for judicial proceedings with a view to inflicting “deterrent punishment on those who were involved in this shameful conspiracy and those who stood behind them.”
The US said Thursday it has had “direct contact with Iran” over the issue. “We have had direct contact with Iran,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters when asked about communication between the two governments, adding the contact took place Wednesday and not in Iran.
US President Barack Obama said Thursday that the US will make sure that Iranian officials are held accountable for “reckless behavior.”
The Kingdom of Bahrain also denounced in the strongest terms the plot, saying that such acts contradicted all human values and ethics.
In a statement carried by the Bahraini News Agency, said the foiled plan is yet an evidence of Iran's non-respect for diplomatic norms.
Bahrain's Shoura Council described the plot as a flagrant violation of all international norms and diplomatic principles.
The Council expressed full support and absolute solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Kuwait condemned the alleged plot as “devilish” and called for those responsible to be held to account. “The state of Kuwait rejects and strongly condemns this foul, terrorist attempt,” said Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, denouncing the “devilish” plot.
The minister, quoted by KUNA, pledged full support for Riyadh and called for “all those behind this attempt, whether they are within the system or individuals, to be held to account,” without naming Iran. A US criminal complaint accuses two Iranian suspects of hiring a would-be assassin in Mexico who was a paid informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration and told US authorities about the details of their plot.
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