Pezeshkian's Claim: The Islamic Republic Has Never Planned to Assassinate Trump

The head of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic claimed in an exclusive interview with NBC News that the Iranian government has "never" plotted to assassinate Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States. Masoud Pezeshkian, in response to a question about the assassination plot against Trump by Islamic Republic agents, stated: "This is one of those conspiracies designed by Israel and other countries to promote Iranophobia. The Islamic Republic has never attempted to assassinate anyone and has no intention of doing so, at least as far as I know." He also claimed in response to whether the Islamic Republic could guarantee that no actions would be taken against Trump's life: "We have never taken such action from the beginning and we will never do so." Pezeshkian's claim is reflected in an American media outlet while American officials and some media have emphasized after several failed attempts to assassinate Trump during the 2024 presidential election campaigns that the Islamic Republic has been seeking to assassinate targets abroad, including Trump. According to these sources, the Islamic Republic intended to use groups and proxy individuals to advance these goals. In the years following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the Islamic Republic and some Iranian officials have repeatedly promised "harsh revenge." Although these promises did not directly mention Trump, they were seen as part of the overall threats against individuals involved in Soleimani's assassination. At that time, the official website of Ali Khamenei's office published a graphic depicting Trump being assassinated by an Iranian drone on his golf course. American officials described these plans as part of the Islamic Republic's efforts for revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force. Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice published details of an indictment related to thwarting an Islamic Republic plot to assassinate Donald Trump before the presidential election on November 18. According to the criminal indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan, New York, an anonymous official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ordered one of the Iranian government agents in September to prepare a plan to monitor and ultimately assassinate Trump. The U.S. Department of Justice identified the main Iranian agent for Trump's assassination 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. In this context, Merrick Garland, the U.S. Attorney General, stated that there is no threat to U.S. national security as serious as the threat from the Islamic Republic. He added that the Department of Justice charged an Iranian agent who was tasked by the Iranian government to lead a network of criminals to carry out assassination plots against targets such as Donald Trump. Garland also mentioned that two other individuals, who were hired as part of this network to silence and kill a critical American journalist on U.S. soil, were arrested and charged. The U.S. Attorney General emphasized that the U.S. will not tolerate the Islamic Republic's efforts to endanger the national security of the United States and its citizens. Christopher Wray, the head of the FBI, stated that these accusations demonstrate the "ongoing and audacious" efforts of the Iranian government to attack American citizens, including Donald Trump, other U.S. leaders, and opponents of the Islamic Republic. He noted that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a foreign terrorist organization, has been conspiring with criminals and assassins to attack Americans on U.S. soil, and such actions will not be tolerated. Wray pointed out that thanks to the intensive efforts of the FBI, deadly plots were disrupted.