Officials have charged a man over an alleged Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump before the presidential election, the US Justice Department has revealed.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed official in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructed a contact in September to put together a plan to survey and ultimately kill the president-elect.
If the man, identified as 51-year-old Farjad Shakeri, was unable to create a plan by then, the complaint said, the official told him Iran would pause its plan until after the presidential election because the official believed Mr Trump would lose.
The official allegedly told Shakeri it would be easier to assassinate the president-elect then, the complaint said.
Shakeri told the FBI he was not going to come up with a plan to murder Mr Trump within the seven days the official had requested, according to the complaint.
He is at large and remains in Iran, officials believe.
Shakeri and two other men – Carlisle Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island – have been charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and money laundering conspiracy.
The men were allegedly recruited to kill an American journalist who was an outspoken critic of Iran. They appeared in court in the Southern District of New York on Thursday and are being detained pending a trial.
Trump wins latest: Details of alleged Iranian plot to kill president-elect
A third attempt on Trump’s life appears to be a serious concern
Senior Ireland correspondent
We knew there had been two attempted assassinations. News of a third came as President Trump prepared for his return to the White House.
His communications director, Steven Cheung, says the President is “aware of the attempted assassination plot” but “nothing will deter him”.
Three months ago, Donald Trump survived when a gunman opened fire, wounding him on the ear, as he addressed a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
A second attempt on his life was thwarted when the Secret Service spotted a gun between bushes on a golf course near the President’s homes in Florida.
His rallies were moved indoors for a time. Every time he has spoken since it has been behind a wall of bullet-proof glass.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is reported to have told its operative to postpone his efforts to kill Donald Trump until after the election.
They didn’t expect him to win, but now that he has, a third attempt on his life in the space of four months is a serious concern.
He’s an avid golfer, enjoys meeting the public and detests having his style cramped but security will take priority.
“God saved me to save you” has been his rally cry, but there’s a fine line between defiance and precaution.
Shakeri has also been charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctions against the Government of Iran.
Read more:
What a Trump presidency means for global wars
Putin congratulates ‘courageous’ Trump
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Attorney General Merrick B Garland said in a statement announcing the charges: “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 plot reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target US government officials, including the president-elect, inside the US.