All We Know About the Islamic Republic's Failed Conspiracy Against Donald Trump

On Friday, November 9, the U.S. Department of Justice released details of an indictment related to the thwarting of a conspiracy by the Islamic Republic to assassinate Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, prior to the presidential election. According to the criminal indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan, New York, an unnamed official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had ordered one of Iran's operatives in September to prepare a plan to monitor and ultimately assassinate Trump. The release of the U.S. Department of Justice statement came just three days after Donald Trump's significant victory in the presidential election, prompting widespread reactions among U.S. officials and much speculation among political experts. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that there are few threats to U.S. national security as serious as that posed by the Islamic Republic. He noted that the Department of Justice has charged an Islamic Republic operative who was tasked by the Iranian government with leading a network of criminals to carry out assassination plots against targets such as Donald Trump. Garland added that two other individuals, who were hired as part of this network to silence and kill a U.S. journalist critical of the Islamic Republic on American soil, have been arrested and charged. The U.S. Attorney General emphasized that the U.S. will not tolerate the Islamic Republic's efforts to endanger American national security and citizens. FBI Director Christopher Wray, in a statement regarding the matter, said the allegations made on Friday demonstrate the Iranian government's "ongoing and audacious" efforts to attack American citizens, including Donald Trump, other U.S. leaders, and opponents of the Islamic Republic. He stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been conspiring with criminals and assassins to attack Americans on U.S. soil, and such actions will not be tolerated. Wray added that thanks to the FBI's intensive efforts, deadly plots have been disrupted. He asserted that the FBI is committed to using all its resources to protect American citizens against the Islamic Republic and any other enemies intending to attack Americans. The U.S. Department of Justice identified the main Islamic Republic operative for the assassination of Donald Trump as Farhad Shakri, a 51-year-old resident of Iran, along with his associates Carlyle Rivera, 49, from Brooklyn, New York, and Jonathan Ludolt, 36, from Staten Island, New York. According to the Department of Justice statement, Shakri is an operative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps living in Tehran, Iran. Shakri, who immigrated to the United States as a child, was deported from the U.S. around 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for theft. The Associated Press identified Shakri as having Afghan origins. The Department of Justice stated that in recent months, Shakri has utilized a network of criminal associates he became acquainted with while in U.S. prison to provide operational personnel to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to carry out surveillance and assassination of the Guard's targets. The Department of Justice has charged these three individuals not only with attempting and planning to assassinate the elected President of the United States but also with participating in a conspiracy to murder an Iranian-American citizen in New York. Rivera was arrested in Brooklyn, and Ludolt in Staten Island, but Shakri is at large and believed to be residing in Iran. Shakri, Rivera, and Ludolt have been charged with "conspiracy to commit murder for hire" and "conspiracy to commit money laundering," which could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of them. Although Merrick Garland did not mention the name of the journalist targeted in the failed assassination plot by the Islamic Republic, Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and political activist, announced that the FBI informed her that two men had been arrested for attempting to kill her at Fairfield University. The two arrested suspects, Carlyle Rivera, 49, and Jonathan Ludolt, 36, were supposed to attempt to assassinate Alinejad during her speech at the university. This Iranian-American journalist added that the two individuals were hired by Farhad Shakri. This marks the third failed assassination plot by the Islamic Republic against Masih Alinejad, resulting in 15 individuals being charged, six of whom are currently in custody. The Islamic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the U.S. accusations regarding Tehran's conspiracy to assassinate Donald Trump as "completely unfounded." According to Agence France-Presse, Ismail Baqaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated in a statement following the U.S. prosecutors' announcement of the alleged conspiracy that "the Foreign Ministry rejects the claims of Iran's involvement in any assassination targeting current or former U.S. officials." The denial of the Iranian government's role in this conspiracy comes despite the fact that in recent years, Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to take "revenge" for the killing of Qassem Soleimani by any means necessary. Ali Shamkhani, the then-secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, had stated during those days that Iran's response to Soleimani's killing would "definitely be military, but it will not be limited to military actions." The Islamic Republic's attempts to assassinate its political opponents abroad, as well as former officials of the Trump administration, including Trump himself, have a history. Reuters reported in mid-October that the Islamic Republic has been involved in at least 33 assassination or kidnapping attempts in Europe and the U.S. since 2020. The news of the Islamic Republic's failed assassination attempt against Donald Trump elicited reactions from some American lawmakers. Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, responded to the U.S. Department of Justice report about the Islamic Republic's conspiracy to assassinate the elected President of the United States by stating, "The Iranian regime wants to kill Donald because it sees him as a threat to its survival." Dan Sullivan, a Republican senator from Alaska, while reposting the news regarding the Islamic Republic's attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, wrote that he has pressured the Biden administration over the past four years to reinstate Trump's successful maximum pressure policy against the Islamic Republic. Senator Sullivan expressed eagerness to collaborate again with the Trump administration on these "critical issues." James Lankford, a Republican senator from Colorado, stated that the Iranian government hates the freedom present in the United States, and this assassination plot is further evidence of that hatred. He praised the swift action of the FBI and other executive agencies in thwarting this assassination plot, saying, "We must remain vigilant against terrorism here in the United States and continue to take necessary actions to protect the security of Americans." Joni Ernst, a Republican senator from Iowa, in response to the news of the Islamic Republic's attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, wrote that Trump will reinstate the "maximum pressure" sanctions and once again bankrupt the Iranian government. Senator Ernst emphasized that the regime based on terror and intimidation of the Islamic Republic must come to an end. Finally, John Kennedy, a Republican senator from Louisiana, wrote on social media that the Iranian government hates Americans. Experts Hussein Aghaei, an international relations and strategic affairs researcher, and Shahin Modarres, a security studies analyst and international relations expert, discussed the Islamic Republic's assassination plots against Donald Trump on Friday in an interview with Voice of America. Hussein Aghaei, in response to a question from the Voice of America host about why the Islamic Republic has become bolder in its terrorist actions, specifically the decision to assassinate the elected President of the United States, stated, "The Islamic Republic has launched an organized hybrid war against its enemies, and as it finds itself cornered and its survival threatened, it has increased the scale and intensity of its extraterritorial assassination operations." He cited a report from the National Security Studies Institute affiliated with Tel Aviv University, stating, "Since 2020, the Islamic Republic has expanded its assassination operations, planning at least seven operations against Israeli and Jewish interests worldwide in 2021, about nine in 2022, and around nine terrorist plots in 2023, with at least six extraterritorial assassination operations planned for 2024 across Asia, Africa, and Europe, extending its assassination targets to Europe and the U.S." This international relations researcher and strategic affairs expert attributed the attempt to assassinate Donald Trump to the Iranian government's fear of his potential rise to power, emphasizing that despite the Islamic Republic's increased efforts to assassinate opponents and "enemies," these assassinations have mostly been unsuccessful. In this context, Shahin Modarres, a security studies analyst and international relations expert, also did not rule out the possibility of the Islamic Republic's involvement in the failed assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania in July, stating, "No possibility can be ruled out, as the Islamic Republic sometimes uses individuals who are in the early stages of ideological radicalization, and Iranian government operatives, by infiltrating these individuals and exploiting their beliefs, encourage them to carry out assassinations such as the attempt on Donald Trump's life." In another part of his remarks about why the U.S. and Western countries do not confront the criminal elements of the Islamic Republic, he attributed it to the existence of powerful and wealthy Iranian lobbies in the West, adding, "These lobbies work for the Islamic Republic in a completely official capacity, and given the legal systems in the West, very precise documentation and strong evidence are required to confront them, making it difficult to combat the Iranian lobbies." According to these two experts, with Donald Trump in the White House, the confrontation with the Iranian lobbies and "mafia groups" supporting the Iranian government will be pursued seriously, their arms will be cut off, and their destructive actions will be thwarted, increasing the likelihood that the European Union will also agree to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Jason Braddock, policy director at the "Alliance Against a Nuclear Iran" organization, reacted to the charges against Shakri and his accomplices by posting on X that Farhad Shakri has voluntarily cooperated with the FBI to reduce the punishment of "Individual 1" in this case, who is currently in U.S. custody. Mr. Braddock also wrote in this post, "Now that the IRGC knows that Farhad Shakri, who is still in Iran, has cooperated with the U.S., what will happen to him? Is the IRGC also seeking to reduce the punishment of the imprisoned individual? The story and motivation are very complex." The United States warned the Islamic Republic last month that any assassination attempt against Donald Trump would be considered an "act of war" and would be met with a response. Netanyahu: You fully agree with Trump on the threats posed by the Iranian government. Steve Mnuchin: Sanctions against the Iranian government must be intensified. The U.S. Department of Justice uncovered the failed assassination plot against Trump by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The counting of votes in Arizona has ended; the seventh swing state has also gone to Donald Trump. New information about the Iranian government’s hired agents for the assassination of Donald Trump. The American PEN Association criticized the Islamic Republic's attempt to assassinate Masih Alinejad. An analysis of the conspiracy against Trump by the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic denied the conspiracy to assassinate Trump; "It is baseless." Reports: Trump will resume the "maximum pressure" campaign against the Islamic Republic. Brian Hook: The Iranian government is the "main source of instability" in the Middle East. Khamenei's silence on Trump's election; Medhi Karrubi: It doesn't matter to us. Donald Trump was elected as the 47th President of the United States.