15 Sep 2020; MEMO: Authorities in South Africa were unaware that Iran was plotting to assassinate US Ambassador to the country, Lana Marks.
According to Bloomberg, a spokesman for the South African Foreign Ministry described the American reports on the case as “surprising”. The official said: “We knew about this report only this morning.”
Lunga Ngqengelele added that South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, may issue a statement on this matter at a later date.
On Sunday, US website Politico reported that the Iranian government had plotted an assassination attempt on Marks in response to the America’s assassination of Iran’s Revolutionary Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani on 3 January.
Commenting on the news Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said yesterday: “Such baseless allegations are part of the intelligence campaign of the US President Donald Trump’s administration against Iran.”
