The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted three men involved in an alleged Iranian plot targeting high-profile American nationals for assassination. The indictment includes Farhad Shakeri, an alleged “Iranian asset” linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and two others based in New York.
Among the targets were President-elect Donald Trump, an Iranian dissident, and two Jewish-American individuals. Shakeri, who is reportedly still in Iran, is said to have connections to the IRGC, which the U.S. government labeled a foreign terrorist organization in 2019.
Shakeri reportedly informed American authorities that the IRGC had approached him to plot Trump’s assassination, initially aiming for this plan before the 2024 presidential election. However, the IRGC allegedly decided to hold off after expecting Trump to lose the election, which they believed would reduce his security protections.
Contrary to their expectation, Trump won the election in a significant victory, securing a non-consecutive second term in office. This victory has renewed security concerns surrounding these potential threats against him.
The Iranian government has publicly threatened Trump since the 2020 airstrike that killed Qasem Soleimani, head of the IRGC’s Quds Force, who was implicated in orchestrating attacks resulting in numerous American deaths. Following the election, an IRGC video reportedly circulated, explicitly threatening Trump’s life.
U.S. Charges Three Men in Alleged Iranian Plot to Assassinate Trump and Other American Targets
The indictment against Shakeri and his associates highlights how the IRGC allegedly orchestrated threats and physical surveillance of an Iranian dissident in the United States, likely activist Masih Alinejad, as well as the stalking and intimidation of other American targets.
Court filings allege that Shakeri and his co-defendants, Carlisle “Pop” Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, met in prison and that Shakeri offered payments to Rivera and Loadholt to surveil and potentially harm an identified Iranian dissident.
This individual, referred to as “Victim-1,” was under extensive IRGC surveillance through Shakeri’s associates, with Shakeri reportedly expressing frustration over the challenges of staging an attack without drawing attention. Additionally, Shakeri was allegedly asked by an IRGC agent to shift his focus from other operations to organizing Trump’s assassination, with promises of ample funding.
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, money laundering, and, in Shakeri’s case, aiding a foreign terrorist organization. FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized that Iran’s continued targeting of American citizens, including Trump, on U.S. soil is a direct threat to national security.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams added that the DOJ remains committed to pursuing and prosecuting those engaged in such activities. Iran’s longstanding grievances over Soleimani’s death have fueled their alleged plots, highlighted by a publicized bounty on Trump’s life and Iran’s recent $50 billion demand in damages for the 2020 airstrike.
