Iranian Operative Charged in Trump Assassination Plot

Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national and alleged Iranian asset, has been charged with plotting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump on orders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Prosecutors claim that Shakeri was tasked to surveil Trump and devise a plan for his assassination, motivated by revenge for the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Shakeri, who was deported from the US in 2008 after serving time for robbery, reportedly communicated with the FBI while in Tehran, discussing the IRGC's willingness to fund the assassination. The plot was uncovered through unsealed criminal charges that reflect ongoing Iranian attempts to target US officials domestically. Additionally, two men in the US were charged for allegedly being recruited for another assassination plot against a journalist critical of Iran. The Justice Department emphasized the grave threat posed by Iranian operatives to US national security.