A chilling plot to assassinate Donald Trump was coordinated in revenge for the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, the FBI has revealed.
The terrifying scheme, which was thwarted by the US intelligence service, involved three alleged hitmen who were hired by the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to carry out a hit on the President-elect.
One of the would-be-assassins Farhad Shakeri, 51, claimed he was originally told to carry out killings against Iranian opposers in the US, before receiving new orders on October 7 – the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel – to solely target Trump.
Shakeri, who has now been charged by officials, was ordered to come up with a kill plot in seven days, just a month before the election, but was unable to do so, according to court documents.
He explained he had been tasked with surveilling and killing Trump to avenge the devastating drone strike that killed Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in January 2020.
Three alleged hitmen have been charged over an attempted murder of Donald Trump ordered by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
Pictures released by the Justice Department after the thwarted attempt on Trump’s life
Pictures released by the DOJ show the cache of weapons the suspected hitmen had at their disposal
One of the would-be-assassins Farhad Shakeri (pictured), 51, claimed he told on October 7 – the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel – to solely target Trump
Shakeri – along with New Yorkers Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathan Loadholt, 36, – are also accused of targeting an Iranian-American activist and were offered $500,000 to kill two Jewish businessmen living in the U.S.
He allegedly confessed to the FBI that the Iranians had been devoting as much money as possible to ensure efforts to kill Mr Trump were carried out. The other two men are currently under arrest.
Mr Trump has already survived two attempts on his life, including avoiding death by a fraction of an inch when he was shot in the ear at an election rally in Pennsylvania in July.
While in a US jail, Shakeri, who is described as an ‘asset’ of the IRGC, recruited two gun-toting American criminals to carry out the assassination, according to the US Department of Justice.
Shakeri said his Iranian handlers had instructed him last month to produce a plan within seven days to kill Mr Trump ahead of the election, according to documents unsealed last night.
Shakeri reportedly told his spymasters Trump’s assassination would cost a ‘huge’ amount of money, to which they allegedly replied: ‘We have already spent a lot of money so the money’s not an issue.’
FBI special agent Mathew Chrusz said this was understood to mean that the Iranians had previously spent a significant sum of money on efforts to murder Mr Trump.
Since Soleimani’s death, Trump has been a target during his election campaign where he asked for military planes and larger Secret Service detail to protect him from Iranian threats.
Trump assassination attempt pictures released by the government
Trump has been a target of Iran assassination threats since he ordered the strike that killed Soleimani, the leader of the brutal Iranian Quds Forces
Soleimani was known as a 62-year-old high-flying general and leader of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who was behind proxy wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
He was one of the most ruthless commanders in the region who for years worked in the shadows but emerged in the spotlight following the Arab Spring and the war with the Islamic State. He’s seen as the mastermind behind Iran’s fight for regional dominance.
After months of tracking Soleimani, the second most powerful man in Iran, the plan to finally strike him was rolled out on January 3, 2020, after he disembarked of Cham Wings Airlines Flight 6Q501 that took off from Damascus and landed in Baghdad.
The plane landed at 12.36am and Soleimani disembarked with his entourage first. He was joined by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of several militia groups tied to Iran. In two cars they drove away from the airport while followed by American MQ-9 Reaper drones.
At 12.47pm several missiles fired into the vehicles, sending them up in flames and leaving 10 burnt bodies in their wake.
It’s not precisely clear why he was in Iraq. Some theories say he was there as a part of an attack plot. Others say he was there to reduce tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Soleimani was known as a 62-year-old high-flying general and leader of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
Iranian mourners gather during the final stage of funeral processions for slain top general Qasem Soleimani, in his hometown Kerman on January 7, 2020
A person looks at paintings depicting (R-L) Lebanon’s Hezbollah late leader Hassan Nasrallah, Iranian slain General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi slain Shiite militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
Trump’s would-be-assassin, Shakeri – an Afghan refugee granted asylum in America – was deported back to Iran in 2008 after serving a 14-year sentence for armed robbery in New York state prisons.
His brother Obed Rivera, also a felon jailed in 2002 for drug manufacture and distribution, living in South Carolina hung up when DailyMail.com called about his brother on Friday.
According to Mr Chrusz, he maintained an extensive prison contact base, recruiting two accomplices while serving time in the US for his crime.
Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathan Loadholt, 36, were both in prison for violent offences, and both men have now been arrested and charged with offences relating to ‘murder-for-hire’.
Rivera was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 and met Shakeri when they were both at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York, in 2005 to 2007.
Shakeri told the FBI he met a senior member of the Revolutionary Guard through his work in Tehran in the ‘oil and fuel businesses.’
The man was referred to by others around him as Majid Soleimani, but Shakeri said he has no way of knowing whether the man is connected to late Iranian military officer Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated under Trump’s watch in 2020.
Rivera was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 and met the man who allegedly hired him when they were both at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York, in 2005 to 2007
Rivera, 49, was arrested on Thursday and charged with conspiracy to murder the president-elect and Iranian activist Masih Alinejad
One of the weapons the hitmen allegedly bought for the assassination
The disturbing documents unsealed by the Department of Justice Friday revealed the arsenal of weapons the assassins had at their disposal and the texts messages they sent each other to concoct their deadly plan.
The trio also shared frightening voice messages, urging patience and detailing how they would follow their targets.
But Shakeri, having allegedly made admissions to US agents, is currently ensconced in the Iranian capital out of reach of American law enforcement.
Announcing the charges last night, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said: ‘There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.
‘The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald J Trump.’
According to the FBI, the IRGC also tasked Shakeri with carrying out other assassinations against US and Israeli citizens in the United States.
Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad said on Fox News Friday that she is the individual that was targeted for murder.
Shakeri told Rivera in a voice note when discussing the murder plot: ‘You just gotta have patience … You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it. Don’t think about going in. In is a suicide move.’
Alinejad said she is ‘grateful’ to the FBI for informing her ahead of the Fairfield University event, which she skipped to ‘project the students.’
‘I don’t want to die. I want to be alive to see the end of this regime,’ Alinejad added.
Trump celebrates his election victory on Wednesday morning with wife Melania and 18-year-old son Barron
Trump rises from the stage with his fist in the air after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July
This comes shortly after Trump said he would blow Iran ‘to smithereens’ if he was back at the helm of the oval office last September.
It came as a former head of MI6 has told Europe to wake up and ‘smell the coffee’ about its need to protect the continent following Mr Trump’s presidential victory.
Sir Alex Younger said subsequent generations would not easily forgive the political leaders of this era should they fail to take remedial action.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday, he said: ‘Trump is disdainful of alliances, he takes a highly transactional approach to them. The security guarantee we have enjoyed for 80 years, since the Second World War, is obviously going to have to change.’
In his first call with Volodymyr Zelensky since winning the election, Mr Trump invited tech billionaire Elon Musk to join the conversation.
It is the latest indication that Mr Musk will play a prominent role in Mr Trump’s administration. It remained unclear last night what the Ukrainian president made of the move, as he has previously clashed with Mr Musk.
Shakeri told Rivera in a voice note when discussing the murder plot: ‘You just gotta have patience … You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it. Don’t think about going in. In is a suicide move.’
Alinejad said she is ‘grateful’ to the FBI for informing her ahead of the Fairfield University event, which she skipped to ‘project the students.’
‘I don’t want to die. I want to be alive to see the end of this regime,’ Alinejad added.
