WASHINGTON, D.C. (MCT) — Even as al-Qaida’s ability to attack the United States continues to diminish, Iran is more willing to attack the United States and American interests overseas, the top U.S. intelligence official told Congress on Tuesday.
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said that a failed 2011 plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States in Washington has convinced U.S. intelligence officials that the leaders of the Iranian government are increasingly likely to support attacks on U.S. soil.
“Some Iranian officials — probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khameni — have changed their calculus and are now willing to conduct an attack in the United States,” said Clapper in written testimony submitted to Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in advance of his appearance during a hearing about all security threats facing the United States.
