In a bold move that underscores the complexities of international security, US and Israeli forces successfully eliminated a high-ranking Iranian official believed to be the mastermind behind a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump during the closing days of the 2024 election cycle. This development was announced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday.
While Hegseth refrained from naming the individual during his briefing, Israeli media outlets identified the target as Rahman Mokadam, a prominent figure within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) special operations division.
“The leader of the unit responsible for the assassination attempt on President Trump has been located and neutralized,” Hegseth declared at a Pentagon press conference, detailing the events of Operation Epic Fury. “Iran’s ambitions to eliminate Trump were thwarted, and in the end, it was President Trump who had the last laugh,” he added, highlighting the successful outcome of the operation.
The assassination scheme was initially brought to light by federal prosecutors who accused the IRGC of enlisting Afghan national Farhad Shakeri in September 2024. Shakeri was allegedly instructed to monitor and ultimately carry out an assassination on Trump. Court documents revealed that when Shakeri expressed concerns about the operation’s financial requirements, his IRGC handler assured him that funding was not a problem, stating, “We have already spent a lot of money, so the money’s not an issue.”
This revelation accentuates the ongoing tensions and the covert nature of global security operations, showcasing the lengths to which nations will go to protect their leaders from international threats. The swift and decisive action by US and Israeli forces serves as a reminder of the ever-present challenges in maintaining geopolitical stability.
When Shakeri told his unidentified IRGC handler that the Trump plot would “cost a ‘huge’ amount of money,” court documents said, the Iranian responded: “We already spent a lot of money … [s]o the money’s not an issue.”
US officials say Iran has been pursuing assassination plots against Trump as vengeance for the death of Qasem Soleimani, head of the country’s elite Quds Force, who was killed in a drone strike ordered by the president in 2020.
Back in 2022, a chilling video animation was posted on then-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website showing what appeared to be a drone or bomber looming over Trump while he was out playing golf.
“Revenge is Definite,” appeared on the screen at the end of the video.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran with an iron fist since 1989, was killed in strikes Feb. 28, alongside dozens of other top Iranian officials.
“They tried twice,” Trump later boasted to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl. “Well, I got him first.”
In a phone conversation with an FBI agent, Shakeri, who did time in US prisons for robbery, said the Iranian official told him on Oct. 7, 2024, to have a plan in place to kill Trump “within seven days.”
If Shakeri did not meet his deadline, the contact allegedly said the hit on Trump would be postponed until after the election, because Tehran officials believed that the Republican nominee would lose “and, afterward, it would be easier to assassinate [him].”
The complaint also charged Brooklyn native Carlisle Rivera and Staten Islander Jonathan Loadholt with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and money laundering conspiracy.
Shakeri, who is believed to be in Iran and out of the reach of American justice, was also charged with conspiring to violate US sanctions against Iran, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiracy to the same.
The complaint detailed that Shakeri emigrated to the US as a child, but was deported in 2008 after serving a 14-year prison sentence for robbery.
During his time behind bars, Shakeri met Rivera and Loadholt, later recruiting them to be hitmen, according to the complaint.
The feds said Shakeri initially tasked his cohorts with killing Iranian American activist and journalist Masih Alinejad, an outspoken critic of the Tehran regime who had been targeted for assassination in the past.
Rivera and Loadholt pursued Alinejad for nine months, surveilling her Brooklyn home and planning to watch her speak at Fairfield University in Connecticut, according to the complaint.
At one point, Rivera allegedly complained to Shakeri: “This b—h is hard to catch, bro.”
Iran offered Shakeri $1.5 million to kill Alinejad and, in turn, he promised Rivera and Loadholt $100,000 to carry out the dastardly deed, the complaint states.
Rivera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking and was sentenced in January to 15 years in federal prison.
Loadholt is due to be sentenced in April after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit stalking and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
This past January, Trump told NewsNation that he had left instructions that if any Iranian plot to kill him was successful, “we’re going to blow the — the whole country is going to get blown up.”
