Iran hired a hitman to assassinate Donald Trump weeks before the presidential election, the US said on Friday as it announced criminal charges against three suspects.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) revealed it had thwarted the murder-for-hire plot ordered by the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in revenge for Mr Trump’s fatal 2020 strike on the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
DoJ officials waited until days after Mr Trump’s sweeping victory in the White House race to disclose there had been yet another attempt on the president-elect’s life.
Mr Trump had been widely expected to resume his hardline stance on the Islamic Republic if he regained the presidency.
He has pledged to return to a maximum pressure campaign in a second term in office.
“The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target US citizens, including president-elect Donald Trump,” Christopher Wray, the FBI director, said.
Trump plans to target Tehran’s oil sales
Mr Trump intends to aggressively target Tehran’s oil sales after taking an Iranian assassination attempt “personally”, sources close to the next US president said.
Hitting the Iranian oil industry will form part of a wider strategy designed to throttle the Islamic Republic’s funding of its Middle Eastern allies, insiders aware of Mr Trump’s plans told the Wall Street Journal.
“People tend to take that stuff personally,” Mick Mulroy, a former top Pentagon official, said. “If he’s going to be hawkish on any particular country, designated major adversaries, it’s Iran.”
When he takes office in January, Mr Trump will rapidly go after foreign ports and traders who handle Iranian oil, insiders said.
In the indictment unsealed on Friday, the FBI said the Iranian regime had in recent years begun outsourcing its targeting of political enemies to “organised crime groups and violent criminals”.
Investigators learnt of the newly-disclosed plan to kill Mr Trump from Farhad Shakeri, an alleged Iranian government asset.
An Afghan national who immigrated to the US as a child, Mr Shakeri spent 14 years in prison in New York following a conviction for robbery.
It was while behind bars that the FBI said he met a web of criminal associates who participated in Tehran’s assassination plots. He was deported from the US in 2008 and is believed to be in Iran.
Shakeri ordered to provide kill plan
Mr Shakeri met with an official from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) on Oct 7, the anniversary of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, according to the complaint.
He was ordered to provide a plan to kill Mr Trump within seven days of the meeting.
If he was unable to carry out the assassination attempt within the proposed time frame, the IRGC official instructed Mr Shakeri to put it on hold until after the US election on Nov 5.
The Iranian regime believed that Mr Trump would lose his third White House bid, and “it would be easier to assassinate” him afterwards, according to the filing.
Mr Shakeri claimed to the FBI that he did not intend to murder Mr Trump “within the timeframe” proposed before the election.
Other US and Israeli citizens allegedly targeted
The Iranian government also allegedly tasked Mr Shakeri with killing other US and Israeli citizens based in the US.
They included Masih Alinejad, an Iranian American journalist and activist who is an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime.
Ms Alinejad said she was “shocked” to learn of the plot from the FBI, which involved an attempt to target her at Fairfield University, where she was scheduled to give a talk.
“I call on the US government and the future president of the United States to be tough on terror,” she said.
The FBI identified two accomplices of Mr Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, both of New York, who were charged separately in the plot on Ms Alinejad.
Both men are in US custody and made a court appearance in New York on Thursday, the DoJ said.
Two of Mr Shakeri’s other targets were Jewish American citizens living in New York, for whose murder he was allegedly offered $500,000 each.
It is claimed he was also tasked with targeting an Israeli tourist in Sri Lanka.
Security bolstered for Trump
Washington has repeatedly accused Tehran of seeking to assassinate prominent US officials in retaliation for the death of Soleimani.
US officials said in July that they had bolstered security for Mr Trump following intelligence that suggested Tehran was aggressively targeting the Republican candidate.
It followed the charging of a Pakistani man who was suspected of attempting to carry out political assassinations at the behest of the Iranian government.
The State Department has also announced a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest of the alleged Iranian mastermind behind a plot to assassinate Mr Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton.
A former White House official said the new administration would look to isolate Iran by building on a “maximum pressure” sanctions regime that Mr Trump pursued during his first term.
“I think you are going to see the sanctions go back on, you are going to see much more, both diplomatically and financially, they are trying to isolate Iran,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk reportedly joined a call between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, following his defeat of Kamala Harris in the US election.
It remains unclear what role the billionaire, who played a critical role in Mr Trump’s 2024 campaign, will play in the Republican’s second administration.
During the 25-minute call, Mr Musk promised to continue to support Kyiv with his Starlink satellites, according to the website Axios.
09:25 PM GMT
That’s all for today
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08:33 PM GMT
Pictured: Hitmen photographed university where target was due to speak
08:11 PM GMT
Trump: Nothing will deter me from restoring peace in the world
Donald Trump’s spokesman Steven Cheung said the president-elect was aware of the assassination plot and nothing will deter him “from returning to the White House and restoring peace around the world”.
08:02 PM GMT
Iran campaigning to ‘silence and kill Americans’, says FBI
FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg accused Iran of campaigning to “silence and kill Americans”.
“The charges announced today further demonstrate the IRGC’s continued campaign to silence and kill Americans who criticise the Iranian regime,” he said.
“We have successfully disrupted the defendants’ alleged plots to fulfil Iran’s goals of permanently eliminating voices of opposition.”
07:53 PM GMT
FBI pledges to ‘aggressively pursue’ those behind assassination plot
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy has pledged that the bureau will “aggressively pursue” those responsible for the assassination attempts.
“The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue justice against anyone attempting to use violence to violate our freedoms and way of life,” he said.
“This case is an example of yet another flagrant attempt by the Government of Iran, not merely to silence those who speak out against them, but to take the lives of American citizens exercising their constitutionally protected rights here in this country.”
07:49 PM GMT
Iran planned ‘brazen’ attempts to ‘gun down’ Americans, says FBI director
The director of the FBI has accused Iran of planning “brazen” attempts to “gun down” American citizens.
Christopher A. Wray said: “The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target US citizens, including President-elect Donald J. Trump, other government leaders, and dissidents who criticise the regime in Tehran.
Mr Wray added that the country’s actions “won’t be tollerated” and pledge to use the “full resources” of the FBI to protect US citizens from Iran.
He said: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – a designated foreign terrorist organisation – has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on US soil and that simply won’t be tolerated.
07:43 PM GMT
Iran poses ‘grave’ threat to US national security, says Merrick Garland
The US attorney general Merrick Garlland said Iran poses a “grave” threat to US national security.
He said: “There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.
“We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security.”
07:39 PM GMT
‘This has to stop,’ says New York attorney
New York Attorney Damian Williams said attacks on US citizens have to stop.
Mr Williams, whose jurisdiction the crimes fall under, said: “This has top stop.”
He added that the justice department will be “unrelenting” in pursuing bad actors and will “stop at nothing” to track them down.
“Today’s charges are another message to those who continue in their efforts – we will remain unrelenting in our pursuit of bad actors, no matter where they reside, and will stop at nothing to bring to justice those who harm our safety and security,” he said.
07:24 PM GMT
Have your say
07:23 PM GMT
‘I don’t want to die’, says alleged target of Iran assassination plot
A woman claiming to be one of targets of Iran’s assassination plot has said: ‘I don’t want to die’.
Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist living in the US, said she was “shocked” to learn she was allegedly targeted by the same hitmen tasked with killing Donald Trump.
Ms Alinejad posted a video of herself on X, formerly Twitter, claiming she received a phone call from the FBI telling her that two men hired by Iran to kill Donald Trump visited her house to her house in Brooklyn.
The Iranian dissident called on the President-elect to be “tough on terror”.
“I want to fight against tyranny, and I deserve to be safe,” she said in an emotional plea.
X/@AlinejadMasih
07:10 PM GMT
Iranian hitman charged with terrorism offences
The Iranian hitman accused of plotting to kill Donald Trump has been charged with terrorism offences.
Farjad Shakeri, who remains on the run and is believed to be in Iran, has been charged with conspiring to provide and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, which each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
He was also charged with conspiracy to violate the international emergency economic powers and and sanctions against the government of Iran, which carries a further maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
06:51 PM GMT
Iranian assassins could spend 200-plus years in prison
The alleged Iranian assassin and his co-defendants could spend 200-plus years in prison, unsealed documents show.
Farjad Shakeri, 51, and his two co-defendants, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathan Loadholt, 36, have all been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
They have also been charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Mr Shakeri and Mr Rivera, from Brooklyn and State Island respectively, appeared before a New York judge yesterday and detained pending trial.
06:45 PM GMT
Iran targeted Trump in revenge for death of IRGC leader
Iran targeted Donald Trump in revenge for the killing of Qasem Soleimani, unsealed criminal charges claim.
Soleimani, the former IRGC Qods Force commander, was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad in 2020 under Mr Trump’s presidency.
The charge sheet claims the hit planned on the president-Elect was an attempt to “take vengeance” for Soleimani’s death and to “silence dissidents”.
The IRGC is “actively targeting nationals of the United States and its allies living in countries around the world for attacks, including assault, kidnapping, and murder, both to repress and silence dissidents critical of the Iranian regime and to take vengeance”, it is claimed.
06:28 PM GMT
Iran ‘ordered Trump hit on October 7 anniversary’
Iran ordered the assassin to kill Trump on the anniversary of October 7, newly unsealed criminal charges show.
According to the documents, Farjad Shakeri was tasked with killing the President-elect exactly a year after Hamas, backed by Iran, massacred some 1,200 Israeli civilians in a cross-border raid.
Mr Shakeri is alleged to have claimed he did not intend to propose a plan to kill Mr Trump “within the timeframe set by the IRGC.
The Iranian government also allegedly tasked Mr Shakeri with killing other US and Israeli citizens based in the US.
Two of his marks were Jewish American citizens living in New York, for whose murder he was offered $500,000 each, the charge sheet claims.
It is claimed he was also tasked with targeting an Israeli tourist in Sri Lanka.
06:17 PM GMT
Trump will attempt to ‘isolate’ Iran, insiders claim
When he takes office in January, Donald Trump will attempt to ‘isolate’ Iran by rapidly going after foreign ports and traders who handle Iranian oil, insiders said.
A former White House official said the new administration would look to isolate Iran by building on a “maximum pressure” sanctions regime that Mr Trump pursued during his first term.
“I think you are going to see the sanctions go back on, you are going to see much more, both diplomatically and financially, they are trying to isolate Iran,” the Wall Street Journal said.
“I think the perception is that Iran is definitely in a position of weakness right now, and now is an opportunity to exploit that weakness.”
Former top Pentagon official Mick Mulroy said: “People tend to take that stuff personally.
“If he’s going to be hawkish on any particular country, designated major adversaries, it’s Iran.”
06:12 PM GMT
Iranian hitmen surveilled Brooklyn home
The associates of the Iranian hitmen accused of planning to assassinate Donald Trump staked out a home in Brooklyn, New York.
Farjad Shakeri ordered two co-defendants to attempt to murder a US citizen based at the property either going into or out of her house, unsealed criminal charges show.
Mr Shakeri allegedly sent Carlisle Rivera, one of the co-defendants, a series of voice notes discussing their efforts to locate and kill the target.
“You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it,” Mr Shakeri allegedly said. “Don’t think about going in. In is a suicide move.”
06:00 PM GMT
Alleged Iranian assassin promised $100,000 for hit
Farjad Shakeri promised $100,000 to his co-defendants to carry out murder, the lawsuit claims.
The co-defendants, named as Jonathan Loadholt and Carlisle Rivera, allegedly repeatedly attempted to carry out the hit on an unnamed defendant.
05:55 PM GMT
Iranian assassin’s associates ‘spent months surveilling US citizen’
Two co-defendants of the suspected assassin, named as Loadholt and Rivera, spent “months” surveilling a US citizen of Iranian origin residing in the United States.
The alleged target is an “outspoken critic of the Iranian regime” and has been the target of multiple prior plots for kidnapping and murder directed by the Iranian government, the charges claim.
05:50 PM GMT
Iranian hitman spent childhood in the US
Farjad Shakeri, the Iranian hitman charged with planning to assassinate Donald Trump, immigrated to the US as a child, according to the unsealed criminal charges.
The charge sheet states he “was deported in or about 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction”.
Mr Shakeri is accused of using a “network of criminal associates he met in prison in the United States to supply the IRGC with operatives to conduct surveillance and assassinations of IRGC targets”.
05:45 PM GMT
Trump to renew ‘maximum pressure’ campaign on Iran
Donald Trump is planning to ramp up sanctions on Iran as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign, sources claim.
The measure are designed the throttle the Middle Eastern power’s oil sails, as well as undercutting its nuclear programme and support for regional proxies, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The measures echo Mr Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran during his first administration.
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