Was Iran trying to assassinate Donald Trump?

November 08, 2024

Donald Trump gestures after taking the oath of office during his first inauguration in Washington, DC, in January 2017.

Olivier Douliery/ABACAPRESS.COM via Reuters

The Justice Department on Friday charged three men with plotting to assassinate Donald Trump on the orders of the Iranian government.

“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,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said Friday.

The alleged murder-for-hire scheme was unveiled as investigators interviewed an apparent Afghani Iranian government asset who told them that a contact in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard instructed him to create a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Trump. The plot was unsealed days after Trump prevailed in this week’s presidential election and is purportedly among other ongoing Iranian efforts to take out US government officials on American soil. Another alleged plot targeted Brooklyn-based human rights activist Masih Alinejad. (See Ian Bremmer’s interview with Alinejad in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s in-custody death in Iran from 2022 here).

Two of the three men have been arrested, but one, Farhad Shakeri, remains at large and is believed to be in Iran.

Why would Iran want to kill Trump? During the first Trump presidency, the US and Iran found themselves on the brink of war after Trump ordered a strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, one of Iran’s top generals. Trump also withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal and reimposed economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran likely dreads another Trump presidency, not only because the president-elect may pursue another “maximum pressure” strategy, but because he is likely to empower Israel to intensify its fight against Iranian proxies.

Sudan’s RSF declares ‘Government of Peace,’ but war continues

Representatives of political and military groups in Sudan take part in a meeting to form a counter-government in the areas occupied by the Rapid Support Forces militia.

Reuters

After nearly two years of armed conflict, Sudan’s rebel Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, signed a charter with allied groups on Saturday to establish a “government of peace and unity” in territories now under their control.

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People visit the graves of their relatives killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A large-scale light installation "Lights of Memory" was held to mark the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Feb. 23, 2025.

REUTERS/Roman Baluk

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Ukraine's military technology could benefit all of Europe — Deputy Minister Anna Gvozdiar

- YouTube

youtu.be

At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine was already punching above its weight in technology—having one of the most powerful IT hubs and digitized governments in the world. Now, three years into the war, tech innovation in Ukraine has become a battlefield advantage, one that Anna Gvozdiar, Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries, says could benefit all of Europe.

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Israelis sit together as they light candles and hold posters with the images Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, on the day the bodies of the deceased hostages were handed over under by Hamas on Feb. 20, 2025.

REUTERS/Itay Cohen

South Korea’s Yoon faces his first day in court

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, February 20, 2025.

Matrix Images/Korea Pool

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, General Keith Kellogg, meet in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 20, 2025.

Photo by Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto

Ahead of the third anniversary on Monday of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump’sUkraine envoy, Keith Kellogg,met in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss bringing the fighting to an end as Washington’s allegiances appear to be shifting toward Moscow.

Coalition bust-up over VAT in South Africa?

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa takes the national salute below a statue of former president Nelson Mandela at the Cape Town City Hall, ahead of his State Of The Nation (SONA) address in Cape Town, South Africa February 6, 2025.

REUTERS/Nic Bothma

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Was Iran trying to assassinate Donald Trump?

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Was Iran trying to assassinate Donald Trump?

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More from GZERO Media

After nearly two years of armed conflict, Sudan’s rebel Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, signed a charter with allied groups on Saturday to establish a “government of peace and unity” in territories now under their control.

Monday marks three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering Europe’s largest and deadliest war since World War II. GZERO looks at where things stand on the battlefield, the state of Western support, and who supports a negotiated settlement.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared before two courts on Thursday. His first stop at the Seoul Central District Court made him the first sitting president — he’s not yet been formally removed from office — to face criminal prosecution.

South Africa’s ruling coalition, made up primarily of the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance, is showing signs of a possible crack in its government of national unity.