You know how on Wednesday the the Obama administration accused Iran of planning the assassination of the Saudi ambassador on U.S. soil, leading to a renewed call for sanctions against the country? Turns out that "hard evidence" of the Iranian government's involvement in the plot "is scant." But don't worry! U.S. officials have analyzed the situation and think it's "more than likely" that at least a couple important people knew about the conspiracy.

And why wouldn't you trust U.S. officials when they tell you that a debt-ridden Iranian-American used-car salesman was acting on orders from the highest echelons of the Iranian government when he tried to hire a Mexican drug cartel to blow up the Saudi ambassador in Washington D.C.? Leave aside the fact that the U.S. government has no "solid information" about the status of the plot in Iran, that the spycraft was "unusual[ly]... poor," that the entire plot "departs from all known Iranian policies and procedures."

Just put all of those objections to one side, for a minute, okay? Because U.S. officials tell Reuters that they think this thing went all the way to the top, "based largely on analyses and their understanding of how the Quds Force operates." (How does the Quds Force operate? "'We would expect to see the Quds Force cover their tracks more effectively,' said one official. Another said a plot to launch a violent attack inside the United States was 'very outside the pattern' of recent Quds Force activities.")

[Reuters; image via AP]