(Scypre.com) – In a high-stakes international incident, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has firmly dismissed a recent report from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) claiming that Iranian agents plotted to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump. The DOJ’s report, released Friday, alleges that an Iranian operative was instructed to monitor and ultimately attempt to kill Trump, with the plot allegedly orchestrated by an official within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
A criminal complaint filed in a New York federal court claims that Farhad Shakeri, 51, an Iranian national, was tasked with planning an assassination. According to court documents, Shakeri was told on October 7, 2024, to “provide a plan to kill former President Donald J. Trump.” The unnamed IRGC official reportedly directed Shakeri to “focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating” Trump.
Reacting to the accusations, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei issued a strong rebuke on Saturday. “We categorically dismiss any involvement in attempts to assassinate either former or current U.S. officials,” Baghaei stated in response to the DOJ’s claims. He labeled the report as “completely baseless and rejected” and highlighted Iran’s history of facing similar accusations, which he described as having been “firmly denied and proven false.”
Baghaei went on to denounce the allegations as part of a “malicious conspiracy orchestrated by Zionist and anti-Iranian circles, aimed at further complicating the issues between the U.S. and Iran.” He argued that such accusations are attempts to sow distrust and provoke diplomatic tension, adding that Iran “remains committed to using all legitimate and legal means at both domestic and international levels to restore the rights of the Iranian nation.”
The DOJ’s report adds that Shakeri, who is believed to be residing in Iran, had previously lived in the United States, having immigrated as a child. Shakeri reportedly faced deportation in 2008 after serving a 14-year prison sentence in the U.S. for a robbery conviction. According to U.S. prosecutors, Shakeri is also accused of engaging two New York residents, 49-year-old Carlisle Rivera and 36-year-old Jonathon Loadholt, to surveil and assassinate a prominent U.S.-based Iranian dissident, journalist Masih Alinejad, for a sum of $100,000. Alinejad, a vocal critic of the Iranian government, has long been in the crosshairs of Iranian officials due to her outspoken views.
In a statement on the allegations, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security.” Shakeri, along with Rivera and Loadholt, now faces serious charges, including murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, each could face between 10 and 20 years in prison.
The charges against Shakeri are compounded by accusations that he conspired to support a foreign terrorist organization, a charge carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence. The DOJ alleges he provided “material support to a foreign terrorist organization” and violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctions against the Iranian government.
This case adds to escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, with accusations of violence and retaliatory acts surfacing from both sides in recent years.