Iran Rejects Trump Assassination Plot Claims, Labels DOJ Report a 'Malicious Conspiracy'
Iran's Foreign Ministry has strongly rejected allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice that it was involved in a plot to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump. The Department of Justice reported on Friday that an Iranian official had instructed Farhad Shakeri, a 51-year-old Iranian national, to surveil and ultimately assassinate Trump. The complaint states that this directive was given on October 7, 2024, with Shakeri tasked with providing a plan to carry out the assassination.
In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed the claims as "completely baseless" and part of a "malicious conspiracy" by Zionist and anti-Iranian forces. He emphasized that Iran has been falsely accused of similar actions in the past, and reiterated the country’s commitment to defending the rights of the Iranian people through legitimate means.
In addition to the Trump plot, Shakeri is accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire scheme to kill an American of Iranian descent, who is a vocal critic of the Iranian regime. This target was identified as journalist Masih Alinejad, who has been a frequent target of Iranian authorities. Shakeri, along with two men, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, faces several serious charges, including murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and material support for terrorism, with penalties that could lead to decades in prison.
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