The US has charged an Afghan national in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump before he was elected the President of the US for the second term.
The charges were unsealed by the Department of Justice on Friday against Farhad Shakeri, 51, alleging he was tasked with “providing a plan” to kill Trump.
Shakeri has not been arrested and is believed to be in Iran, according to the US government.
The prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan court that an official of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed Shakeri in September to devise a plan to surveil and kill Trump.
In a statement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said: “The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.”
#BREAKING | ट्रंप पर हुए हमले को लेकर बड़ा खुलासा
– ट्रंप पर हमले में IRGC शामिल – FBI@vishalpandeyk | @journosnehlata https://t.co/smwhXUROiK#DonaldTrump #USA #BreakingNews #ABPNews pic.twitter.com/fG4ienLJNC
— ABP News (@ABPNews) November 8, 2024
The indictment alleged that Shakeri was asked to come up with a plan to kill Trump in seven days.
Shakeri told law enforcement that he did not intend to propose a scheme to kill Trump within that seven-day timeframe so the plan was put on hold by the IRGC, according to prosecutors.
The IRGC asset said that the Iranian government told him that it would be easier to kill Trump after the elections because they believed he would lose, the prosecution said.
Two American citizens were also charged by the justice department for allegedly being recruited to kill an American journalist who was an outspoken critic of Iran. The two men were identified as Carlisle Rivera, also known as “Pop”, 49, from Brooklyn, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, from Staten Island.
On Thursday, both the men appeared in court in the Southern District of New York and have been detained pending a trial.
