Iranian charged for plotting Trump assassination was tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka: US

Washington: An Iranian national charged by the FBI for plotting assassination of president-elect Donald Trump was tasked by the Iranians to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, the Department of Justice has alleged.

Farhad Shakeri, 51, of Iran, was charged on Friday in a criminal complaint in connection with his alleged involvement in a plot to murder Trump. Shakeri is an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) asset, remains at large and is believed to reside in Tehran, Iran.

"He was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka,” the Department of Justice said. According to documents filed in a federal court, Shakeri was asked by IRGC to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka and to plan a mass shooting event in October 2024.

On or about October 23, 2024, the governments of the United States and Israel publicly warned travellers about threats of an attack targeting tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area, and, on or about the following day, Sri Lankan authorities reported having arrested three individuals in connection with the threat.

On October 28, after the public travel warnings issued by the governments of the United States and Israel and after CC-2's arrest by Sri Lankan authorities-Shaker advised the FBI that he had previously tasked CC-2 with surveilling the Israeli consulate in Sri Lanka, the Department of Justice said.

Shaker stated that he and CC-2 had served time in prison together. Shaker informed the FBI that he had provided this surveillance to IRGC Official-I. According to Shaker, after being provided surveillance on the Israeli consulate, IRGC Official I asked him to identify another target.

After this Shaker then instructed CC-2 to surveil a tourist location in Arugam Bay frequented by Israeli tourists. IRGC Official-I instructed Shaker to orchestrate a mass shooting at the Arugam Bay location. They planned that CC-2 would supply AK-47s and other weapons for the attack, federal prosecutors said.