Iranian charged in plot to kill Trump, also tasked with targeting Israelis in Sri Lanka, US

The Iranian national, charged by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday in a murder-for-hire plot to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump and an American journalist critical of Tehran, was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, the DoJ said.

The 51-year-old Iranian national Farhad Shakeri, an asset of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), “was tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka”, the department said.

The plot, which also involved the attempted murder of a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York, has led to the arrest of two men, Carlisle Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island, New York. Both were charged in a criminal complaint with multiple offenses, including conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.

Shakeri, believed to be residing in Tehran, allegedly used a network of criminal associates to carry out surveillance and assassination missions against dissidents critical of the Iranian regime. One such target was a U.S. citizen living in New York who has been a vocal critic of the Iranian government. Shakeri, according to investigators, promised Rivera and Loadholt $100,000 for their role in locating and killing the victim.

The charges also reveal that Shakeri was involved in additional plans, including a scheme to kill President-elect Donald Trump and other U.S. and Israeli targets. Shakeri’s instructions to his operatives, including details on surveilling victims and carrying out killings, were uncovered through law enforcement interviews and digital communications.

Shakeri, who had been deported from the U.S. in 2008 after serving prison time for robbery, faces multiple charges, including murder-for-hire and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He remains at large, while Rivera and Loadholt are being held as they await trial, it said.

Following is the criminal complaint submitted by the Federal Bureau of lnvestigation (FBI)

“According to SHAKERI, IRGC Official-I also asked SHAKERI to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka and to plan a mass shooting event in approximately October 2024.” 

“On or about October 23, 2024, the governments of the United States and Israel publicly warned travelers about threats of an attack targeting tourist locations in the Arugam By area, and, on or about the following day, Sri Lankan authorities reported having arrested three individuals in connection with the threat. One of the individuals arrested was identified as CC-2.” 

“On or about October 28, 2024-after the public travel warnings issued by the governments of the United States and Israel and after CC-2’s arrest by Sri Lankan authorities-SHAKERI advised the FBI that he had previously tasked CC-2 with surveilling the Israeli consulate in Sri Lanka.” 

“SHAKERI stated that he and CC-2 had served time in prison together. SHAKERI informed the FBI that he had provided this surveillance to IRGC Official-1.

According to SHAKERI, after being provided surveillance on the Israeli consulate, IRGC Official-1 asked SHAKERI to identify another target, and SHAKERI then instructed CC-2 to surveil a tourist location in Arugam Bay frequented by Israeli tourists.” 

“IRGC Official-I instructed SHAKERI to orchestrate a mass shooting at the Arugam Bay location. And, according to SHAKERI, they planned that CC-2 would supply AK47s and other weapons for the attack.”