US prosecutors unveil charges in an alleged Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump and an Iranian-American journalist in New York.
US prosecutors revealed on Friday charges related to a foiled assassination plot allegedly orchestrated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The plot was aimed at killing former President Donald Trump and an Iranian-American dissident journalist, in what is believed to be an act of revenge for the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
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The charges were brought against Farhad Shakeri, a 51-year-old Afghan national believed to be in Iran, who is accused of receiving orders from the IRGC to devise a plan to kill Trump.
Shakeri is said to have been in communication with the IRGC after the former US president’s role in Soleimani’s death, which Tehran considers an act of aggression.
The assassination plot was allegedly conceived after Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential election, which saw him defeat Vice President Kamala Harris.
Shakeri, in coordination with two other men—Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, both from New York—also plotted the murder of an Iranian-American dissident, who has long been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime.
Rivera and Loadholt were arrested and appeared in court in New York on Thursday. They are charged with surveilling the dissident, believed to be Masih Alinejad, a journalist with strong anti-regime views.
Alinejad has been targeted multiple times by Iran, with previous attempts made on her life, including kidnapping and murder plots.
FBI Director Christopher Wray condemned Iran’s actions, stating that these charges “expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target US citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump and dissidents who criticise the regime in Tehran.” He added that the United States will not tolerate such actions against its citizens.
The Justice Department also described Shakeri as an “IRGC asset” who had lived in the US before being deported in 2008 following a 14-year prison sentence for robbery.
Since his deportation, Shakeri allegedly used a network of associates to work with the IRGC on missions to surveil and potentially assassinate targets on American soil.
In court documents, Shakeri reportedly disclosed to FBI agents that he had been approached by an IRGC official in September to organise Trump’s assassination. During a series of telephone conversations with the FBI, Shakeri explained that the IRGC official had insisted that money was “not an issue” in securing the assassination.
Shakeri was further instructed to present a plan within seven days or risk the IRGC waiting until after the election to carry out the assassination. The Justice Department noted that the IRGC had assessed Trump’s likely defeat, which they believed would make it easier to kill him post-election.
This latest plot follows previous allegations that Iran has attempted to target US officials in retaliation for Soleimani’s death.
Tehran has repeatedly denied these accusations. The US State Department has also announced a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest of those behind another Iranian plot, this time targeting former White House official John Bolton.
The US government has long been on alert for Iranian attempts to harm American officials, particularly since the 2020 killing of Soleimani, which has significantly strained relations between the two countries.
