An Afghan national is reportedly at the center of a shocking conspiracy to assassinate former U.S. President Donald Trump and carry out a mass shooting targeting Israeli tourists in Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka, according to a report by CNN quoting the U.S. Department of Justice.
Farhad Shakeri has been accused of planning a murder-for-hire plot on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Prosecutors allege that Shakeri was also instructed by IRGC officers to organize a mass shooting in Sri Lanka aimed at Israeli tourists, prompting both U.S. and Sri Lankan authorities to issue alerts about the potential attack.
Shakeri’s Background and Criminal History
Shakeri, 51, is an Afghan national currently residing in Tehran, Iran. He immigrated to the U.S. as a child and became involved in criminal activity early in life. In 1994, he was convicted of robbery and served 14 years in New York state prisons. In 2005, he was transferred to a Beacon facility, where he allegedly met Carlisle Rivera. According to documents from the New York Department of Corrections, his parole supervision expired in 2015. Shakeri remained in the U.S. until his deportation in 2008.
As stated in the indictment, Shakeri was arrested in Sri Lanka in 2019 following the seizure of 92 kilograms of heroin. While incarcerated, his ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly deepened. He is believed to be currently involved with the Iranian government from Afghanistan.
Plot Allegations and Current Accusations
According to prosecutors, Shakeri allegedly used a “network of criminal associates” from prison, coordinating with two suspects to hire individuals for an assassination plot targeting Trump and a U.S.-based Iranian journalist. This network was also reportedly used to conduct surveillance on other Iranian government targets. Shakeri informed prosecutors that his Iranian contacts had asked him to plan a mass shooting targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka in October 2024, a year after the recent Hamas attacks on Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran has “categorically dismissed” these allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice. In a post on social media platform X on Saturday, Iran's Foreign Ministry described the claims as “completely baseless and rejected,” adding that “similar accusations have been made in the past,” which Iran has “firmly denied and proven false.” The Ministry stated that these claims are part of a “malicious conspiracy” aimed at “further complicating issues between the U.S. and Iran.”
