Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan citizen who was deported from the United States in 2008, has been charged with plotting to assassinate Donald Trump. The 51-year-old man had allegedly conspired with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to carry out a murder-for-hire operation.
On November 8, Shakeri and two others were charged in a criminal complaint for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to murder an American citizen of Iranian origin in New York. While the other two suspects were arrested, Shakeri is still at large and is believed to be in Iran.
According to a criminal complaint, in September 2024, Shakeri was instructed by an IRGC official to focus on “the assassination of the former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.” The directive came as Shakeri was already involved in several operations on behalf of the IRGC, and was using his criminal network to support the group’s agenda.
The criminal complaint states that according to Shakeri, during his meeting with an IRGC official on or around October 7, 2024, he was instructed to provide a plan within seven days to kill Trump. If Shakeri failed to do so within that deadline, the IRGC official said the plan would be delayed until after the US presidential elections. It was believed that Trump would lose and then it would be easy to carry out the murder. Shakeri told the FBI that he did not intend to propose a plan within the stipulated time frame.
The US Justice Department said, “Shakeri has informed law enforcement that he is expected to be arrested by President-elect Donald J. Trump on October 7, 2024.” Was tasked with providing a plan to kill Trump. During the interview, Shakeri claimed that he did not intend to propose a plan to kill Trump within the time frame set by the IRGC.
Shakeri was also tasked with tracking two Jewish American citizens in New York and was offered $500,000 by an IRGC official for the assassination of any target. Additionally, he was instructed to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka.
Background of Farhad Shakeri
Shakeri, an asset of the Tehran-based IRGC, immigrated to the United States as a child. He was deported in 2008 after serving 14 years for a robbery conviction. In recent months, Shakeri has been involved in leveraging the network of criminal associates he found in US prisons to assist the IRGC. According to the US Justice Department, he is reportedly supplying operatives to the IRGC to conduct surveillance and carry out targeted assassinations of persons of interest.
Although he was deported in 2008, his parole supervision continued until 2015. In 2019, he was detained in Sri Lanka in connection with the seizure of a large quantity of heroin, highlighting an ongoing series of alleged criminal activities linked to his network.
Shakeri faces charges including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which could result in up to 20 years in prison. He is also charged with providing material support to the same organization, as well as conspiring to violate sanctions against the Iranian government under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, each of which carries a potential 20-year prison sentence .
