US announces charges in alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump

US prosecutors announced charges on Nov 8 in an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate former president Donald Trump and a prominent dissident Iranian-American journalist.

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The foiled assassination plot was allegedly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to avenge the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020 in a US strike ordered by then President Trump, the Justice Department said.

Farhad Shakeri, 51, an Afghan national who is believed to be in Iran, was "tasked" on Oct 7 by the IRGC with providing a plan to kill Trump, the department said in a statement.

Shakeri and two other men - Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, both of New York - were charged separately with plotting to kill a dissident Iranian-American journalist.

Rivera and Loadholt are both in US custody and made a court appearance in New York on Nov 7, the department said.

"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 criticize the regime in Tehran," Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Christopher Wray said.