Donald Trump gets ‘the last laugh’ as US kills alleged Iranian assassination plotter
Donald Trump gets ‘the last laugh’ as US kills alleged Iranian assassination plotter
On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that an Iranian official linked to a 2024 attempt to assassinate Donald Trump has been eliminated by military forces. The official, whose identity remains undisclosed, was said to have spearheaded a plot targeting the then-president-elect during his campaign.
The Iranian Official’s Role
According to US prosecutors, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sought to carry out an attack on Trump in November 2024. Farhad Shakeri, a 51-year-old Iranian man, was charged with orchestrating the effort. He allegedly provided the IRGC with a plan to kill Trump but claimed he did not intend to follow through with the timeline set by his superiors.
“Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth stated during a Pentagon briefing.
Two additional suspects, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt—both from New York—were also implicated in the scheme. They were charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and other related offenses. Shakeri faced multiple charges, including terror-related crimes and money laundering.
Trump’s Response
During a Sunday interview, Trump referenced the alleged Iranian plot while discussing the US-Israel operation that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “I got him before he got me,” he told ABC News, implying the assassination attempt had been thwarted.
The justice department emphasized that targeting the plot’s author was not the primary objective of the military action. Hegseth admitted the mission was “not a situation of complete success,” though he noted the official was eventually added to the list of priorities.
Tehran has rejected claims of involvement in the attack, maintaining its denial of plotting against Trump and other US leaders. The incident adds to a series of alleged threats against the president during his 2024 campaign, including a sniper incident that left a bullet grazing his ear.
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