Iran's MFA denies involvement in alleged Trump assassination plot

Iran's Foreign Ministry has firmly rejected allegations that Tehran was involved in a plot to assassinate US President-elect Donald Trump.

Ismail Baghaei, the ministry’s spokesperson, called the claims "groundless" and described them as part of a broader effort to destabilize relations between Iran and the US, Caliber.Az reports citing the statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

He noted that such accusations had been made before, but Tehran had consistently disproven them.

The US Department of Justice made the allegations on November 8, stating that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was involved in preparing an assassination attempt on Trump. The Justice Department filed charges against Iranian citizen Farhad Shakeri, accusing him of leading a network of individuals tasked with targeting people deemed undesirable by the Iranian government, including US officials and dissidents critical of Tehran.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the charges highlighted Iran’s persistent efforts to target US citizens, including President-elect Trump, along with other government officials and critics of the regime. He accused the IRGC of "colluding with criminals" to carry out these attacks on US soil.

According to the Justice Department, Shakeri, along with his alleged accomplices, Carlyle Rivera and Jonathan Lowdholt, were involved in a plot to eliminate an Iranian-born US citizen who had publicly criticized the Iranian government. Rivera was arrested in Brooklyn, New York, and Lowdholt was arrested in Staten Island, New York. Shakeri remains at large and is believed to be in Iran. Rivera and Lowdholt made their initial court appearances in the Southern District of New York and were remanded into custody pending trial.

The Justice Department also revealed that Shakeri had been tasked by the IRGC to develop a plan to assassinate President-elect Trump on October 7, 2024. However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegations, with Baghaei arguing that these accusations are part of a "malicious plot" orchestrated by "Zionist and anti-Iranian circles" aimed at further escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

By Tamilla Hasanova