In a shocking revelation by U.S. authorities, an Iranian agent, acting under the direction of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was instructed to stalk and ultimately assassinate former President Donald Trump in the critical final weeks leading up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Federal officials unsealed a bombshell criminal complaint on Friday, detailing an extensive assassination plot that also involved two other individuals tasked with targeting a prominent journalist and a pair of Jewish businesspeople in New York City.
The charges allege that Farhad Shakeri, a 51-year-old man with ties to the Iranian government, was directly ordered to surveil and execute a plan to kill Trump before Election Day. The complaint paints a picture of a chilling international conspiracy, revealing that Shakeri had direct contact with an unnamed handler in Tehran, who emphasized that “money’s not an issue” when discussing the cost of carrying out the mission. The agent’s instructions were clear: kill Trump within seven days of October 7, 2024, or delay the plan until after the election.
The Assassination Plot and the Role of the Iranian Regime
According to the federal complaint, Shakeri had been in contact with his Iranian handler since September, receiving explicit instructions to focus on Trump. In a phone conversation, the handler allegedly stated that “money’s not an issue” when Shakeri expressed concern about the high costs of the mission. The Iranian official also hinted at previous assassination attempts against Trump, revealing the broader scope of Tehran’s aggressive actions against the former president.
Interestingly, the handler suggested that if the assassination was not carried out by the initial deadline, it could be postponed until after the November election. The reasoning was that Tehran believed Trump would lose to Vice President Kamala Harris and that the assassination would be easier to carry out once Trump was no longer a sitting president.
Shakeri, however, reportedly told FBI investigators that he did not intend to carry out the murder within the requested timeline. Still, the plot sheds light on the regime’s ongoing and escalating efforts to eliminate those it views as adversaries, including high-profile U.S. officials and activists critical of the Iranian government.
Iranian Operatives in the U.S.: A Web of Conspiracy
In addition to targeting Trump, Shakeri allegedly enlisted two New York City men, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Loadholt, to participate in a series of assassination plots in the U.S. The complaint reveals that Shakeri recruited Rivera and Loadholt during their time together in U.S. prisons, where Shakeri had served a 14-year sentence for robbery before being deported in 2008.
The two men were tasked with executing an assassination plot against Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and activist who has been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime. Alinejad, who has been previously targeted by Iran for her activism, was surveilled by Rivera and Loadholt for months. The two allegedly followed her movements in Brooklyn and even planned to attend one of her speaking engagements in Connecticut.
Shakeri’s instructions from the Iranian authorities were chillingly precise: the targets were selected based on their political and ideological positions, with Alinejad and other victims allegedly chosen because of their outspoken support for Israel. Rivera and Loadholt, according to the complaint, were offered significant financial incentives to carry out the attacks, including a $1.5 million payment from Iran for Alinejad’s assassination.
Other Targets and Expanded Operations
Beyond Trump and Alinejad, Shakeri was also allegedly involved in plotting other international attacks on behalf of the Iranian government. One particularly disturbing plot involved targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, a plan that prompted both the U.S. and Israeli governments to issue travel warnings for the island nation.
Federal authorities have charged Shakeri with multiple serious offenses, including murder-for-hire, conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions, and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Shakeri remains at large, believed to be in Iran, and out of reach of U.S. law enforcement.
The Broader Context: Iran’s Escalating Campaign of Revenge
The recent revelations are part of an ongoing series of actions by the Iranian government to target individuals they view as adversaries, particularly in retaliation for the death of General Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the IRGC’s Quds Force. Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike ordered by then-President Trump in January 2020, a move that inflamed tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The U.S. Department of Justice has warned that these continued Iranian plots to target American citizens, including former President Trump, pose a serious national security threat. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams condemned the Iranian regime’s actions, stating, “Actors directed by the Government of Iran continue to target our citizens, including President-elect Trump, on U.S. soil and abroad. This has to stop.”
Conclusion
The unsealing of this criminal complaint underscores the lengths to which the Iranian government is willing to go to eliminate perceived enemies, both domestically and abroad. The plot to assassinate Trump and the other coordinated attacks reveal a broader strategy by Tehran to exact revenge for past actions, especially the death of Qasem Soleimani. With Shakeri and others still at large, U.S. authorities face an ongoing challenge in countering Iran’s global campaign of intimidation and violence, raising questions about the limits of international law enforcement cooperation in combating such transnational threats.