US Justice Department reveals Iranian plot to assassinate Trump

(Patria) - The US Justice Department today revealed an Iranian plan to assassinate Donald Trump, accusing a man who said he was tasked by an Iranian government official before this week's election to plan the assassination of the newly elected Republican president.

Investigators learned of the plan to assassinate Trump from Farhad Shakeri, an accused accomplice of the Iranian government who spent time in US prisons for robbery and whom authorities say maintains a network of criminal associates involved in Tehran's assassination plots, writes VOA.

Shakeri told investigators that an contact in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard directed him last September to develop a plan within seven days to monitor and eventually assassinate Trump, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan.

The official quoted Shakeri's statement that "they have already spent a lot of money" and that "money is not a problem".

Shakeri told investigators that the official told him that if he could not develop a plan within seven days, the plot would be paused until after the election because the official assumed Trump would lose and would be easier to assassinate then, the document states.

Shakeri is at large and remains in Iran. Two other men whom authorities say were recruited to participate in other assassinations, including that of a prominent Iranian-American journalist who was targeted in assassination-for-hire plots, were arrested today.

- Few actors in the world pose as serious a threat to the national security of the United States as Iran does - Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The plot, with charges unsealed just days after Trump's victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, reflects what federal officials have described as Iran's persistent efforts to target US government officials, including Trump, on US soil.

Last summer, the Justice Department charged a Pakistani national with ties to Iran in an assassination-for-hire plot targeting US officials.

Iranian operatives also carried out a hacking operation and captured emails belonging to Trump campaign associates in what officials assessed as an attempt to interfere in the presidential election.

Intelligence officials said Iran opposed Trump's re-election, believing he was more likely to increase tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The Trump administration ended the Iran nuclear deal, reimposed sanctions, and ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, an act that spurred Iranian leaders to seek revenge.

Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung said the president-elect was aware of the assassination plot and that nothing would deter him "from returning to the White House and restoring peace around the world".