WASHINGTON — On Friday, the Justice Department unveiled an alleged Iranian murder-for-hire plot to assassinate Donald Trump, charging a man who claimed he was instructed by a government official, just before this week’s election, to plan the killing of the Republican president-elect.
According to investigators, Farhad Shakeri, an alleged Iranian government asset with a history of American imprisonment for robbery, disclosed the plan to kill Trump. Authorities say Shakeri is part of a network of criminal associates allegedly mobilized by Tehran for surveillance and murder-for-hire operations.
A criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan revealed that in September, Shakeri told the FBI his contact in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard directed him to halt other tasks and formulate a plan within seven days to monitor and ultimately assassinate Trump. Shakeri reported that his contact insisted, “We have already spent a lot of money,” and that funds were “not an issue.” The Iranian official also allegedly told him that if he couldn’t assemble a plan in time, they would pause the plot until after the election, assuming Trump’s defeat would make him an easier target.
Shakeri, who remains at large in Iran, also faces charges for allegedly recruiting two other men to track and kill Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, a vocal critic of the Iranian regime who has been the target of multiple thwarted assassination plots. Speaking to The Associated Press from Berlin, Alinejad expressed shock at the repeated attempts on her life, emphasizing her commitment to free speech and her wish to remain safe.
In a statement on X, Alinejad urged the U.S. government to protect its national security, expressing gratitude to law enforcement but adding, “I don’t want to die. I want to fight against tyranny.”
The two other defendants, Jonathan Loadholt and Carlisle Rivera, who are allegedly involved in the plot, did not provide immediate comments through their legal representatives.
In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei dismissed the allegations, describing them as a “disgusting plot by Zionist and anti-Iran circles” aimed at worsening U.S.-Iran relations. The official IRNA news agency reported Baghaei’s stance, which labeled the charges as false, similar to other accusations he said have been proven incorrect in the past.
Shakeri, identified as an Afghan national who immigrated to the U.S. as a child and was later deported after 14 years in prison for robbery, also allegedly planned attacks on Jewish-Americans in New York and Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka. Officials report that Shakeri crossed paths with Rivera during his time in prison and recruited other associates.
The complaint states that Shakeri disclosed parts of the plot in recorded phone interviews with FBI agents while he was in Iran. Shakeri reportedly cooperated with authorities in an effort to reduce a prison sentence for an associate incarcerated in the U.S.
Although some information Shakeri provided was determined to be inaccurate, officials concluded his statements about a plan to kill Trump and Iran’s willingness to fund such an effort were credible.
This plot, announced by the Justice Department shortly after Trump’s election victory over Democrat Kamala Harris, is part of what federal officials describe as a continuing pattern of Iran targeting U.S. officials. Last summer, for instance, a Pakistani man with ties to Iran was charged in a separate murder-for-hire plot against American officials.
Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned Iran’s activities, stating, “Few actors in the world pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.” FBI Director Christopher Wray noted that the case highlights Iran’s “brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens,” including Trump and others critical of Tehran.
In previous efforts, Iranian operatives allegedly conducted a hack-and-leak operation of emails from Trump campaign associates, aiming to influence the presidential election against Trump. U.S. intelligence officials have indicated that Iran opposed Trump’s reelection, viewing him as likely to escalate tensions with Tehran. Trump’s administration withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran, reimposed sanctions, and ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, an action that led Iranian leaders to pledge retaliation.
Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, acknowledged the assassination threat, affirming that it would not deter Trump from “returning to the White House and restoring peace around the world.”
