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Texan Gets 25 Years In Prison For 2011 Saudi Assassination Plot

/ CBS Texas

Manssor Arbabsiar
In this handout photo provided by the Nueces County Sheriff's Department, Manssor Arbab Arbabsiar is seen in this 2001 mug shot. Arbabsiar, along with Gholam Shakuri, was charged October 11, 2011 with plotting to killing the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the U.S. and to bomb the Israeli and Saudi Arabian embassies in Washington DC. Arbabsiar. The U.S. alleges that Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Iran, is linked to the Quds Force, a faction of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. (Photo courtesy of Nueces County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge in New York has sentenced a Texas man to 25 years in prison for plotting to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.

Manssor Arbabsiar was sentenced Thursday in Manhattan.

The 58-year-old Arbabsiar pleaded guilty last year. Authorities say he went to Mexico at the direction of the Iranian military in 2011 to arrange the assassination attempt. The plot never went any further.

Prosecutors had sought the 25-year sentence.

Defense attorneys say he suffers from a mental disorder that clouded his judgment. They argued the sentence should be no more than 10 years.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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First published on May 30, 2013 / 12:17 PM CDT

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