US Retaliates with charges on Iranian plot to assassinate Trump
US prosecutors have filed charges in an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump and a well-known Iranian-American dissident journalist.
According to the Justice Department, this plan allegedly came from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), aiming to retaliate for the 2020 US-led killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, ordered by Trump himself.
Farhad Shakeri, a 51-year-old Afghan national believed to be residing in Iran, reportedly took charge of planning the assassination on Trump, who won Tuesday’s US presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Prosecutors have charged Shakeri, along with two New York-based men, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, for also plotting to kill an Iranian-American dissident journalist who criticizes Iran’s regime.
The Justice Department described Shakeri as a key IRGC figure living in Tehran, adding that he once lived in the US but was deported after serving 14 years for robbery.
In recent months, Shakeri allegedly leveraged his network of former criminal associates from his prison days to work with the IRGC, recruiting operatives to carry out surveillance and other assignments targeting IRGC enemies.
Shakeri reportedly revealed the plot to assassinate Trump in phone conversations with FBI agents. He contacted the agents hoping to negotiate a reduced sentence for an incarcerated associate.
During these conversations, he allegedly disclosed that an IRGC official had approached him in September with a specific timeline: Trump’s assassination plan needed to be ready within a week. If not, the IRGC aimed to pursue Trump post-election, assuming his loss would make him a more vulnerable target.
The dissident journalist, speculated to be Masih Alinejad, has previously been targeted in various kidnapping and assassination plots by Iran, though court documents haven’t officially confirmed her identity.
In late October, US prosecutors filed charges against an IRGC general related to yet another plot against Alinejad.
With the recent announcement, US officials emphasize Iran’s ongoing attempts to harm American citizens, including officials and vocal regime critics, despite Iran’s outright denials.
The State Department, meanwhile, has issued a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest of another Iranian suspect behind an earlier alleged plot targeting former White House official John Bolton.
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