FBI arresting Pakistanis for conspiring against US politicians
In 2020, then-US President Trump ordered a drone strike on a prominent Iranian general. Tehran called it a war crime and seemed to be seeking revenge. However, an assassination plot failed as the assassin accidentally encountered undercover FBI agents.
In the US, a 46-year-old man from Pakistan has been arrested for his alleged involvement in an assassination plot against a US politician. According to the Justice Department and FBI, the man traveled to the US after a stay in Iran in April and sought potential accomplices. However, these were undercover FBI agents. The man was arrested in mid-July, just before he planned to leave the US again.
The Justice Department and FBI did not reveal which politician was the target of the plot. US media reported that the target was Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and that the plot was a retaliatory measure for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. There is no connection to the assassination attempt on Trump in July, in which the Republican was injured.
Soleimani was a prominent commander of the so-called Quds Brigades. In 2020, he was killed in an Iraqi drone strike ordered by then-President Trump. "The US Department of Justice has thwarted for years brazen and relentless attempts by Iran to exact revenge against American politicians for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani," said US Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement announcing the arrest of the 46-year-old Pakistani.
Iran rejects allegations
FBI Director Christopher Wray added: "This dangerous assassination plot, as laid out in today's indictment, was allegedly orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and straight out of the Iranian playbook. A plot to assassinate a US politician directed from abroad is a threat to our national security and will be aggressively pursued by the full weight of the FBI."
US media first reported on the possible plot in July. Iran rejected the allegations: "These are baseless and politically motivated accusations," said a spokesperson for Iran's UN mission in New York. Trump is a war criminal in the eyes of Iran, and should be prosecuted and punished, the spokesperson added. "But Iran has chosen the legal path in this regard."
The Secret Service was also informed by the US government about the plot and reportedly strengthened its security measures for Trump. However, the Secret Service could not prevent the assassination attempt at a campaign event in Pennsylvania.
The 46-year-old Pakistani's alleged target was reportedly Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as mentioned by US media. This alleged plot was a response to the drone strike ordered by then-President Trump that resulted in the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
