U.S. prosecutors have announced charges against three men in an alleged plot by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
The plot reportedly aimed to retaliate for the 2020 U.S. airstrike, ordered by Trump, that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, according to the Department of Justice.
Farhad Shakeri, 51, believed to reside in Iran, allegedly received instructions on October 7 from the IRGC to plan Trump’s assassination after his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the recent U.S. presidential election.
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The Justice Department revealed Shakeri, who had been deported from the U.S. in 2008 following a prison sentence for robbery, used a network of criminal associates from his prison time to aid the IRGC’s objectives.
Shakeri and two other men, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, both based in New York, face separate charges for conspiring to kill an Iranian-American journalist who openly criticizes Iran’s regime.
Rivera and Loadholt are in U.S. custody and appeared in court in New York on Thursday.
FBI Director Christopher Wray condemned the alleged plot, calling it a “brazen” attempt to harm U.S. citizens, including President-elect Trump and other outspoken critics of Iran’s leadership.
The case highlights ongoing tensions, as the U.S. has previously accused Iran of targeting American officials in retaliation for Soleimani’s death.
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