A few weeks before the US election, Iran is said to have ordered an attack on Donald Trump. According to a Justice Department indictment, the motive was revenge for the killing of top Iranian general Soleimani.
The US Justice Department accuses Iran of plotting to assassinate Republican Donald Trump. “Today's indictments reveal Iran's continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
During the FBI's investigation into another case, a 51-year-old from Iran with Afghan nationality said that a few weeks before the US presidential election, Iran had commissioned him to present and implement a plan to assassinate Trump. The investigators consider the statements to be credible.
“Real and concrete threats”
According to the Justice Department, the main defendant, who was imprisoned in the United States for 14 years and is currently believed to be in Iran, recruited common criminals on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The US justice system has brought charges against the 51-year-old and two other men who are US citizens. They are also accused of plotting to murder an Iranian dissident. Arrest warrants have been issued against the men and the two Americans have already been arrested.
Trump's campaign team announced a few weeks ago that it had been informed by US intelligence “about real and concrete threats from Iran to assassinate him.” US media had already reported on a suspected Iranian murder plot against Trump in the summer. Tehran denied these reports. US authorities also accused Iran of hacking the Trump campaign team.
Trump ordered drone strike on Soleimani
“There are few actors in the world that pose as great a threat to the national security of the United States as Iran,” warned US Attorney General Merrick Garland. “We will not tolerate the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security.”
During his first term as US President, Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran, imposed new sanctions against the country and classified the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. In 2020, on Trump's instructions, the US military killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani with a drone strike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
