Foiled Plot on Tel Aviv US Embassy ‘Aspirational,’ Says Official
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DAVID BUIMOVITCH/AFP/Getty Image(WASHINGTON) — A senior administration official Thursday told reporters that the foiled plot on the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv and other targets in Israel was “aspirational” and lacked detail.
“We see this as what we would call an aspirational plot,” the official said. “Bad guy says they want to do bad things; they get closer and closer to something that was actually planned and had details around it.”
“It doesn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous, and it doesn’t mean it’s not something we and the Israelis take seriously,” the official added, but made clear the three arrested Palestinians had a list of targets without many operational specifics.
The official also said the administration is not “giving a lot of credence” to reports that the plotters were acting on direct orders from al Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The official rejected Palestinians’ accusation that Israel was exaggerating the plot to bolster its position in peace talks.
“It wasn’t Israeli propaganda,” the official said.
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