Revenge from Iran - US authorities prevent assassination of politicians <unk> apparently Trump among the targets
The United States has reportedly defended the assassination of a U.S. government official or politician. A 46-year-old Pakistani man with ties to Iran, who is alleged to have planned the assassination of a U.S. government official, was arrested and charged in the U.S., the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
Asif M., the Pakistani national, is accused of recruiting hitmen in the U.S. to avenge the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani, according to the indictment.
The FBI believes that former President Trump and other former or current members of the U.S. government were targets of the planned assassinations, CNN reported, citing a U.S. government official.
In 2020, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Soleimani, the then-commander of the IRGC's Quds Force. Iranian government officials repeatedly vowed to avenge the killing.
Suspect maintained close ties to Iran
The suspect reportedly spent time in Iran and was arrested on July 12 as he was attempting to leave the U.S., according to prosecutors. A federal judge ordered his detention on July 16, according to court records. He is now charged with solicitation to commit a crime of violence in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the 46-year-old "maintained close ties" to Iran. Another FBI official said the hitmen the Pakistani allegedly tried to hire were actually undercover FBI agents.
"For years, the Department of Justice has aggressively pursued the Iranian regime's brazen and unrelenting efforts to exact revenge on American officials for the killing of Iranian general Soleimani," said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
However, he said there was no evidence linking the suspect to the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, in which Trump was shot at with a semi-automatic rifle and narrowly escaped with a wound to his right ear.
The arrest and charges against the Pakistani man have led to speculations about potential targets of the planned assassinations, with reports suggesting that former President Donald Trump was among them. The FBI Director, Christopher Wray, acknowledged that the suspect, who was arrested with ties to Iran, "maintained close ties" to the country.
