Iran has dismissed allegations of involvement in a plot to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the claims ‘unsubstantiated and malicious.’ Read more on Tehran’s response and the heightened security measures in the U.S.
Iran has rejected U.S. claims that it tried to plan a plot to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump before the November election, labeling these accusations as a hoax created by pro-Israel groups aiming to heighten tensions between Washington and Tehran.
On Friday, the US Department of Justice alleged that Iranian officials had instructed a man named Farhad Shakeri to “develop a plan” to assassinate Trump. Furthermore, he was reportedly assigned with executing killings of US and Israeli citizens within the United States. Shakeri is identified as an Afghan national living in Tehran after being deported from the US in 2008 following an extended prison term for robbery.
The indictment additionally charged two American citizens, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Loadholt, with aiding Tehran in monitoring a US citizen of Iranian descent. “Today’s charges reveal Iran’s ongoing bold attempts to target US citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government officials, and dissidents critical of the Tehran regime,” stated FBI Director Christopher Wray.
READ ALSO: US Charges Iranian Plot to Assassinate Trump Amid Rising Tensions
On Saturday, Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, firmly dismissed the allegations as “completely baseless.” He stated that these claims are a “malicious conspiracy orchestrated by Zionist and anti-Iranian groups,” designed to exacerbate tensions between the US and Iran.
Baghaei also mentioned that Iran had previously refuted similar “false” accusations. He seemed to be alluding to an August indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice, where a Pakistani national was accused of being dispatched by Iran to the United States with intentions of committing murders, one allegedly targeting Trump.
Earlier this year, before the election, there were two assassination attempts on Trump. The initial incident took place in July during a rally in Pennsylvania when Thomas Matthew Crooks fired shots at him. One of the bullets grazed Trump’s ear, and Secret Service agents immediately neutralized the assailant.
The second incident occurred in September when Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect identified by authorities, allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump at his golf course in Florida but was stopped by security personnel.
