Who is Farhad Shakeri, Man Charged in Iranian Plot to Assassinate Donald Trump Before US Polls?

New Delhi: Republican leader Donald Trump , who already survived two assassination attempts before emerging victorious in the recently-held US elections, was once again under the target of an assassin, just weeks before the much-awaited polls, the United States Justice Department revealed. The deadly plan was thwarted by the FBI. 

The Justice Department has identified the alleged assassin as Farjad Shakeri, who on the instructions of Iran orchestrated a failed murder plot for the US President-elect. A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed official in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed a contact in September to put together a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Trump.

“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 ," read a press release by the Justice Department.

It is learnt that Tehran ordered to pause the deadly attack in case Shakeri was unable to plan the murder plot as the Iranian official believed Trump would lose the polls and it would be easier to assassinate him then, the complaint said.

As per the complaint, Shakeri told the FBI he didn't plan to propose a plan to murder Trump within within the timeframe ( seven days) set by the IRGC. Shakeri informed the law enforcement that he was tasked on October 7 this year with providing a plan to kill President-elect Donald J. Trump. He also stated he was tasked with surveilling two Jewish American citizens residing in New York City and offered $500,000 by an IRGC official for the murder of either victim. He was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, as per the press release.

Who is Farjad Shakeri?

A resident of Iran's capital Tehran, Farjad Shakeri (51) immigrated to the United States as a child before being deported in or about 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction. In recent months, Shakeri used a network of criminal associates he met in prison in the United States to supply the IRGC with operatives to conduct surveillance and assassinations of IRGC targets.

Two key members of his network include his co-defendants, Jonathon Loadholt (36) of Staten Island in New York and Carlisle Rivera alias Pop (49) of Brooklyn in New York.

The trio have also been charged in a criminal complaint in connection with their alleged involvement in a plot to murder a US citizen of Iranian origin, an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime, in New York. The alleged target of Iran, US citizen, has been the target of multiple prior plots for kidnapping and/or murder directed by the Government of Iran, the Justice Department said.

While Rivera and Loadholt was arrested from Brooklyn and Staten Island, respectively, Shakeri remains at large and is believed to be in Iran.

Charges Against Farjad Shakeri 

Shakeri, Rivera, and Loadholt have all been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. 

“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. We have also charged and arrested two individuals who we allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on U.S. soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime. We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

“The charges announced today expose Iran's continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a designated foreign terrorist organization — has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on U.S. soil and that simply won’t be tolerated. Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, their deadly schemes were disrupted.  We're committed to using the full resources of the FBI to protect our citizens from Iran or any other adversary who targets Americans.”

What is IRGC? 

The IRGC is an Iranian military and counterintelligence agency under the authority of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The IRGC comprises of components including an external operations force, the IRGC-QF, and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US Secretary of State since April 15, 2019. 

Why Iran is Targeting US Citizens?

According to the complaint and other public statements and filings, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (the Government of Iran) is actively targeting nationals of the United States and its allies living in countries around the world for attacks both to repress and silence dissidents critical of the Iranian regime and to take vengeance for the January 2020 death of then-Commander of the Islamic  Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force (IRGC-QF), Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Notably,  Qasem Soleimani was eliminated in 2020 under Trump-led regime.

The IRGC has publicly stated its desire to avenge the death of Soleimani, and, among its activities, the IRGC plots and conducts attack operations outside Iran targeting U.S. citizens residing in the United States and abroad.