The United States Department of Justice has revealed a plot orchestrated by Iran to assassinate former President Donald Trump prior to the election. A criminal complaint filed on Friday in Manhattan's federal court accuses an officer from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard of planning with a hired gun to track and formulate a plan to kill Trump. The complaint specifies that a man named Farhad Shakeri, an employee of the Iranian government, was entrusted with this assassination duty.
According to the complaint, Shakeri, while residing in Iran, divulged some details of the alleged conspiracy during recorded phone conversations with FBI agents. He purportedly informed investigators that his cooperation was motivated by an attempt to reduce the sentence of an associate imprisoned in the U.S.
Afghan National Hired for the Assassination
Shakeri, originally an Afghan citizen who relocated to the U.S. during childhood, was later deported after serving 14 years for robbery. Now, he manages a network of mercenaries recruited by Tehran for contract killings. According to the criminal complaint opened in federal court in Manhattan, Shakeri informed investigators over the phone that a contact within Iran's Revolutionary Guard instructed him last September to abandon other tasks and devise a plan within seven days to monitor and assassinate Trump. He was allegedly offered a significant financial reward for this task.
Source: aajtak
Plot to Execute the Plan Post-Election
Shakeri claimed that he spent considerable funds on the plot, and the Iranian officer assured him that money was not a concern. However, if the plan wasn't formulated within seven days, the conspiracy would be postponed until after the elections, as the officer believed Trump would lose, making it easier to execute him. According to the complaint, though some of the provided information was found false by authorities, Shakeri's statements about a plan to assassinate Trump and Iran's willingness to offer substantial sums for it were verified.
Iranian-American Journalist Targeted
Shakeri remains at large and is presumed to be in Iran. Two others were arrested on charges related to allegations that Shakeri had recruited them to follow and potentially kill prominent Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad. Yet, the plot was thwarted.
While speaking over the phone from Berlin, Alinejad expressed shock, stating, "It's shocking that this was the third attempt against me." In a social media post on Platform X, she remarked, "I have come to the U.S. to exercise my First Amendment rights of freedom of expression—I do not wish to be killed. I intend to fight tyranny, and I deserve safety. I thank law enforcement for their protection; however, I urge the American government to safeguard the nation's security."
July 13 Shooting Incident at Trump's Rally
It's noteworthy that Donald Trump was again elected as the U.S. President after defeating Kamala Harris. The Justice Department's revelation of a plot against him is startling, given it's not the first assassination attempt. Earlier this year, on July 13, there was a shooting incident during an election rally in Butler city, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear. Approximately 64 days post this event, another attempt on his life occurred while Trump was at the International Golf Club in Palm Beach County, Florida.
