An "Iranian asset" has been charged over an alleged plot by the country's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to kill Donald Trump - the United States president-elect who has already survived two attempts on his life. The Republican leader, set to return to the White House this January, was shot in his ear during an assassination attempt in July.
The Justice Department termed Farhad Shakeri as an "Iranian asset" who was tasked by the Iranian regime on October 7 to plot Trump's assassination. Shakeri, 51, allegedly told law enforcement that he did not intend to propose a plan to kill Trump within the timeframe set by the IRGC, according to an official statement. Iran has denied the charges.
"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," said Attorney General Merrick B Garland.
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The US has designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
FBI director Christopher Wray said the charges reveal that Iran continues to target US citizens, which includes Trump and other leaders and government officials who criticize the Iran regime. "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on US soil and that simply won't be tolerated," he said.
The statement said Shakeri had immigrated to the US as a child and was deported around 2008 after he was convicted in a robbery case. The prosecutors believe Shakeri is now in Iran.
Shakeri - identified as an Afghan national in the criminal complaint against him - has also been charged with hiring two men in New York, whom he had met in prison, to kill a US citizen of Iranian origin who had publicly opposed the Iranian government. The two New York residents - Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Loadholt - have also been charged for their alleged involvement in the murder plot.
Iran Denies Charge
Iran's foreign ministry has denied as "totally unfounded" the charges of planning to kill Trump. Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson of the Iranian foreign ministry, said in a statement that the ministry "rejects allegations that Iran is implicated in an assassination attempt targeting former or current American officials".
Threats And Robotic Dogs
Having survived two attempts on his life and now on the path to the most powerful office, protecting the president-elect has become the top priority for the US Secret Service. Robotic dogs are being used to patrol Trump's Mar-a-Lago house in Florida.
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A bullet had pierced Trump's ear during an earlier attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania in July. A second attempt was reported three months later at the Florida golf club when shots were fired in the former president's vicinity. Trump was not injured this time.
After the election results on November 6 made it clear he would return for a second term, Trump said in his victory speech that he was told God had spared his life for a reason. "And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness," he had said.
