The plot was concocted by blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, a radical Muslim cleric in New York City, and by some of his followers. The attacks were to take place on July 4, Independence Day in the U.S.

The first target was the UN Building; it was to be destroyed by a suicide bomber driving a truck bomb. Also to be destroyed by car bombs were the Lincoln Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel, two busy underground roadways in the city. The George Washington Bridge would be bombed next, as well as the FBI's main office in New York. There was also some talk of bombing Jewish targets in the city as well as assassinating the Jewish U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.