US authorities: Iranian assassination plot foiled - Trump was targeted by media
Arrested 46-year-old Pakistani had reportedly been in Iran before entering the US in April to advance plot. The man was arrested on July 12 as he attempted to leave the US.
The goal of the plot was allegedly to avenge the killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The strike was ordered by then-President Trump.
The Justice Department did not specify potential targets of the plot. However, CNN reported that unnamed US officials said investigators believe Trump and other current and former government officials were potential targets.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the arrested man had "close connections" to Iran. He allegedly tried to hire hitmen in the US, who were actually undercover informants. Wray said recruiting hitmen was a method "straight out of the Iranian playbook."
Later, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said their government was in contact with US authorities regarding the case.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said there's no evidence linking the 46-year-old to the attempted assassination of Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Trump narrowly escaped death, being struck by a bullet from a semi-automatic rifle on his right ear.
The suspected shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sharpshooter. Authorities believe Crooks acted alone.
US media had reported a few days after the assassination attempt that security measures for Trump had been increased due to an alleged Iranian assassination plot before the Butler incident. However, they noted no connection between the alleged Iranian plans and the Butler assassination attempt. Tehran denied the reports of the alleged Iranian assassination plot.
Garland said on Tuesday that his department has been aggressively countering Iran's "brazen and unrelenting" efforts to exact revenge for Soleimani's killing for years.
The arrested individual was identified as having previous ties to Iran before entering the US. His alleged associates in the plot were believed to have ties to Iranian intelligence services.
