The US has charged a foreign citizen in connection with a plot allegedly ordered by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to assassinate president-elect Donald Trump, the Justice Department said on Friday.
According to the department, Farhad Shakeri, 51, informed law enforcement “that he was tasked on October 7, 2024, with providing a plan to kill” Mr Trump.
In a statement, the department described Mr Shakeri as an IRGC asset believed to be residing in Tehran. He moved the US as a child but was deported in 2008 following his release from prison after a robbery conviction.
He allegedly told investigators that an IRGC contact had instructed him to put together a plan within seven days to watch and kill Mr Trump, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan.
Mr Shakeri told law enforcement officials he had no plans to formulate a plan to kill Mr Trump within the IRGC's timeline, according to the department statement.
Two other men who the authorities say were recruited to participate in other assassinations, including a prominent Iranian-American journalist, were also arrested on Friday.
“The charges announced today expose Iran's continued brazen attempts to target US citizens, including president-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders and dissidents who criticise the regime in Tehran,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The plot, whose charges were unsealed days after Mr Trump's defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris, reflects what federal officials have described as continuing efforts by Iran to target US government officials on US soil. Last summer, the Justice Department charged a Pakistani man with ties to Iran in a murder-for-hire plot.
Mr Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in July, and in the weeks leading up to the incident, US intelligence had warned of an Iran-backed plot to kill the president-elect. There is no evidence the gunman had been tasked by Iran to carry out that shooting.
Iran's mission to the UN told The National at the time that the accusations were “unsubstantiated and malicious”.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
