The US Department of Justice (DoJ) disclosed on Friday an alleged assassination plot by Iranian agents targeting President-elect Donald Trump. Court filings reveal that operatives linked to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed an agent, Farhad Shakeri, this September to devise a plan to monitor and assassinate Trump.
Prosecutors stated that Shakeri, a 51-year-old Iranian operative, was ordered to set aside his usual duties and focus on the mission. Shakeri reportedly warned his IRGC contact that the plan would require massive funds. The IRGC official assured him that money was “not an issue,” stating that they had already spent significantly on the operation. Following this, the official advised Shakeri to postpone the plan if he couldn't meet a seven-day deadline, expecting that a Trump defeat in the upcoming election would make it easier to carry out the assassination later.
The revelations come shortly after Trump’s election victory over Democratic challenger and Vice President Kamala Harris, amid what officials describe as continued efforts by Iran to target the former US president. Trump’s role in the January 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force, has led to years of escalated hostility from Iran.
The DoJ had earlier brought charges in August against a Pakistani man with Iranian connections in a separate plot to kill Trump. Additional charges were filed later in September against three Iranian hackers who allegedly tried to disrupt Trump’s campaign by hacking into systems to undermine his re-election prospects. Officials expect US-Iran relations to further deteriorate in Trump’s second term, with anticipated policy measures, including stricter sanctions aimed at weakening Iran’s support for Middle Eastern militant proxies and curbing its nuclear program.
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