Iran Denies US Claims of Assassination Plot Against Trump
Iran’s foreign ministry vehemently rejected allegations from the United States asserting that Tehran had orchestrated a plot to assassinate president-elect Donald Trump. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the accusations as “totally unfounded,” stating that Iran is not involved in any attempts on the lives of American officials, past or present.
US prosecutors announced charges on Friday regarding an alleged Iranian scheme intending to kill Trump and an Iranian-American journalist known for her dissident views. According to the Justice Department, the plot was reportedly orchestrated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who died in a 2020 US drone strike sanctioned by Trump.
Farhad Shakeri, a 51-year-old Afghan national believed to be residing in Iran, was allegedly tasked by the IRGC with formulating a plan to eliminate Trump. Alongside him, two other individuals from New York, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, face separate charges related to plotting the murder of the Iranian-American dissident. Rivera and Loadholt are currently in US custody and appeared in court on Thursday.
FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, “The charges announced today reveal Iran’s ongoing, bold efforts to target US citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government officials, and dissidents who oppose the Tehran regime.”
Trump, who recently defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election, has faced two other assassination attempts this year, one of which involved a shooting incident at a campaign rally that narrowly missed him.
Responding to the US accusations, the Iranian foreign ministry reiterated that claims of its involvement in an assassination attempt against any American officials are baseless.
In its statement, the Justice Department characterized Shakeri as an “IRGC asset residing in Tehran.” It was noted that he had immigrated to the United States as a child but faced deportation in 2008 after serving a 14-year prison sentence for robbery. In recent months, Shakeri allegedly leveraged a network of acquaintances from his prison time to assist the IRGC in conducting surveillance and performing assassinations of targets designated by the Iranian government.
The Justice Department indicated that Loadholt and Rivera were directed by Shakeri to monitor the activities of a US citizen of Iranian descent, reportedly journalist Masih Alinejad, who is known for her vocal criticism of the Iranian government and has been the target of several kidnapping and assassination attempts.
The criminal complaint against Shakeri reveals that he had disclosed plans to assassinate Trump during conversations with FBI agents, hoping to negotiate a sentence reduction for another individual incarcerated in the US. He claimed to have been approached by an IRGC official in September regarding the execution of Trump’s assassination. During these discussions, Shakeri quoted the official as stating that “money’s not an issue,” indicating financial resources were readily available for the operation.
Shakeri was allegedly given a one-week deadline to devise a plan to carry out the assassination. The IRGC, as indicated by Shakeri, suggested that if a plan wasn’t presented in a timely manner, the assassination could proceed after the election, as they believed it would be easier to target Trump if he were not in office.
Previous allegations have surfaced regarding Iran’s intentions to assassinate US officials in retaliation for Soleimani’s death, which Tehran has consistently denied. Earlier this year, a Pakistani man with purported links to Iran entered a not guilty plea in New York in connection with an alleged plot to hire a hitman for the murder of a US politician or official. Additionally, the State Department has offered a $20 million reward for information leading to the capture of an Iranian individual accused of masterminding a plot against former White House aide John Bolton.
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