Audio threat to fly plane into US Capitol for death of Iranian general sent to NY air-traffic controllers

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National security officials said authorities have been briefed about a threat sent Tuesday to air-traffic controllers in New York that a plane will crash into the Capitol in Washington. 

"We are flying a plane into the Capitol on Wednesday," according to an audio recorded threat obtained by CBS News. "Soleimani will be avenged."

It referred to Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed in Iraq last year in a U.S. airstrike ordered by President Trump. American officials deemed Soleimani — the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force — as dangerous as the Islamic State and held him responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. troops. 

Iran has vowed revenge for the Jan. 3, 2020 killing. At the time, Iran retaliated with an airstrike of its own on a military base in Iraq, resulting in concussions for up to 100 U.S. troops. 

A national security official told Fox News that "relevant agencies" were briefed on Tuesday's incident and that "while it is possible it is a hoax, it is being taken seriously."

In a statement to Fox News, the FBI said it "takes all threats of violence to public safety seriously." The Capitol Police was working with federal law enforcement partners. 

The Federal Aviation Administration works with authorities and national security partners on "reported security threats that may impact aviation safety," it said in a statement.

Congress is expected to meet Wednesday to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win in the November presidential election. 

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In a Tuesday tweet, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif remembered Soleimani, saying he was "cowardly assassinated by the terrorist-in-chief."

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