Defense Secretary Says Trump Assassination Attempt Plot Leader Killed, Iran Rejects Claim

An Iranian leader allegedly behind the Donald Trump assassination attempt in 2024 has reportedly been killed. This was according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who revealed that the architect of that assassination attempt was killed in US airstrikes.

Hegseth did not mention the identity of the individual who was allegedly killed. Instead, he referred to it as 'the leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump.'

'Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,' the Defense Secretary said at a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, 4 March, in a report by The Hill.

Collateral Damage from War

Hegseth went on to explain that hunting down and eliminating the individual behind the Trump assassination attempt was not among the focus of the war. He added that the United States President never made it a priority.

However, he explained that finding the perpetrator of the assassination attempt was on their target list. It just so happened that the author of that plot was in the line of fire and hence ended up being collateral damage.

'That was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, never raised by the president or anybody else, I ensured, and others ensured that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list,' Hegseth explained.

Was it Really Shakeri?

Although Hegseth did not officially mention it, the name that most would associate with the Trump assassination attempt is Farhad Shakeri. He was an IRGC asset based in Tehran who migrated to the United States when he was still a child. However, he was deported in 2008 following a 14-year robbery sentence, according to the US Department of Justice.

Despite getting deported, Shakeri remained under parole monitoring. Trouble continued for Shakeri, who was involved in other crimes such as a heroin seizure and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

As far as the 2024 attempt, when Trump was president-elect at the time, Shakeri admitted that he was tasked with killing Donald Trump. However, he added that he did not intend to execute the plan according to the schedule set by the Iranians, Sky News reported.

War Numbers Rising

Aside from the 51-year-old, two others were arrested in connection with the assassination attempt. They were identified as Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, both hailing from New York and were allegedly recruited to be part of that network.

The three were charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and money laundering. Shakeri had more charges to his name, including two terror offences and other offences.

As for the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, Hegseth said that they are accelerating efforts as tension mounts across the Gulf, Lebanon and Iraq. The fighting is spreading across the Middle East with the number of casualties rising on the sixth day of US-Israeli attacks.

Among the notable developments was the torpedo attack on a U.S. submarine that resulted in the sinking of an Iranian naval ship in the Indian Ocean. According to a report by the Associated Press, 87 bodies were recovered while 32 people were rescued by the Sri Lankan navy.