Iran planned a mass shooting attack targeting Israelis in Sri Lanka, and attempted to assassinate two Jewish businessmen for their prominent pro-Israel activities on social media, according to an FBI indictment filed over the weekend in the United States.
The indictment, which was revealed to the public, disclosed that the FBI thwarted an Iranian agent's plot to assassinate American and Israeli targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.
According to the indictment, an individual named Farhad Shakeri, 51, was instructed by a senior figure in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to carry out a mass shooting at Sri Lanka's Arugam Bay, a popular destination among Israeli tourists. Shakeri directed his assistant, who was later arrested by authorities in Sri Lanka, to conduct surveillance of the area and lead the attack squad equipped with AK-47 rifles and other weapons that had been provided in advance.
The indictment further reveals that Shakeri was offered up to $1 million, or $500,000 per person, to assassinate two Jewish businessmen in New York. The two, whose names have not been disclosed, were targeted by Tehran due to their prominent pro-Israel presence on social media. Court documents state that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps provided Shakeri with photos of the businessmen from social media and requested that he carry out the job swiftly and discreetly.
These new details add to those disclosed on Friday, revealing that on October 7 of this year, Shakeri received a high-priority directive to develop a surveillance plan of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in order to assassinate him. Shakeri is an Afghan immigrant who previously served a 14-year prison sentence in the United States for robbery. During his time in prison, the indictment notes, he became acquainted with two New York residents: Carlisle Rivera, also known as Pop, 49, of Brooklyn; and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island.
The two men later became Shakeri’s agents on U.S. soil and his partners in the plot to assassinate Trump, ultimately leading to their arrest. Shakeri was deported from the United States in 2008 after his release from prison. He was subsequently arrested in Sri Lanka on drug trafficking charges, where authorities seized 92 kilograms of narcotics in his possession. According to U.S. intelligence, Shakeri is currently believed to be residing in Iran.
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