Iran has strongly dismissed the allegations of its involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate US President-elect Donald Trump and other high profile US officials.
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei called the allegations “completely unfounded.” But he said the claim was part of a conspiracy by factions hostile to Iran, or the Zionist Party.
Iran’s Strong Denial
In a response to Iranian state media, Esmail Baghaei dismissed any allegation that Iran was behind the plot and insisted that the DOJ report represented a “revolting conspiracy” by Zionist and anti-Iranian elements to deteriorate relations between the US and Iran.
“These accusations are totally baseless and are a part of an evil plot arranged by Zionist parties and other circles hostile to Iran,” he said.
Iran have been accused of similar plotting which have been proved ungrounded in the past, he added. According to him, Iran will use “all legitimate and legal measures, national and international” for defense of national interests.
Allegations of Iranian Operatives To Assassinate Trump
US department of Justice on Friday, shared details of an alleged Iran to assassinate Trump in a murder-for-hire plot.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the federal New York court, the DOJ claims that a high-ranking Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official instructed Farhad Shakeri, 51, to concoct a plot to kill Trump.
The DOJ report claims that it was a revenge plan, against Trump when in January 2020, Trump-ordered U.S. drone attack killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
The complaint alleges that, in September 2024, Shakeri was approached by an IRGC contact for the first time who ordered him to surveil and potentially kill Trump. But if Shakeri could not come up with a plan within a week, the operation would be delayed until after the U.S. presidential election on November 5, 2024.
The DOJ’s report also implicates two other men, Carlisle Rivera, 49 years old, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36 years old, who allegedly were hired by Shakeri to surveil and murder an American journalist critical of the Iranian regime, identified as Masih Alinejad .
“This case exposes Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including former President Trump, other government leaders, and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.
The DOJ says Shakeri, an “IRGC asset,” is believed to be in Iran. The complaint alleges that he was told by an Iranian official to make arrangements to kill Donald Trump in October 2024. However it was postponed for after elections.
The DOJ made public the information just a few days after the presidential elections on November 5, in which Trump beat Kamala Harris.
For now, department of justice has indicted Shakeri, Rivera, and Loadholt on charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, money laundering, etc, amounting to 10-20 years imprisonment.
Shakeri, who will have to face a charge under the material support statute in addition to the above charges. he may also face as much as an additional 20 years for providing aid to the foreign terrorist organizations.
