Iranian Agents Plotted to Kill Donald Trump, Justice Department Says

Iranian agents plotted to assassinate Donald Trump before he was re-elected as president, the Justice Department revealed Friday in a case that underscores the barrage of security threats Trump faces even before he takes office.

An Iranian operative told law enforcement that an official in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard directed him in September to set aside his other duties and assemble a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Trump, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said in court papers.

The operative, identified as Farhad Shakeri, warned the official that crafting such a plan would cost a huge amount of money. In response, the official said, “we have already spent a lot of money…money’s not an issue.” The official in October told Shakeri if he couldn’t pull together a plan within seven days, they would put the assassination plot on hold until after the election, believing Trump would lose and it would be easier to kill him then, the complaint says.