There is significant evidence from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI documenting multiple, distinct Iranian-backed plots to assassinate Donald Trump. These cases involve formal criminal charges and detailed evidence of “murder-for-hire” schemes.
The evidence is primarily centered on two major federal cases unsealed between late 2024 and early 2026:
1. The Farhad Shakeri Plot (November 2024)
In November 2024, the DOJ unsealed charges against Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national and alleged asset of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Shakeri told investigators that IRGC officials tasked him in September 2024 with creating a plan to surveil and kill Trump within seven days. According to the criminal complaint, an IRGC official told Shakeri that “money’s not an issue,” claiming they had already spent a massive amount of money on the effort.
When Shakeri failed to provide a plan in the requested timeframe, his handlers allegedly told him to pause the plot until after the election, believing Trump would lose and be easier to kill then.
See here:
Then there’s Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national with ties to Iran, who was arrested in July 2024 and is currently on trial in federal court in Brooklyn (as of February 2026).
Prosecutors recently released hidden camera video showing Merchant meeting with undercover FBI agents (whom he believed were hitmen). In the video, he uses a vape pen on a napkin to represent his “target” and asks, “How will it die?”
Asif Merchant allegedly paid a $5,000 advance to these undercover agents to carry out the assassination.
Merchant’s scheme reportedly included staging a protest at a rally to create a “distraction” for the hitmen to escape. While Trump was not always named explicitly in the recordings, court documents identify him as the intended high-level target.
U.S. intelligence officials have consistently stated that Iran’s motivation is revenge for the 2020 U.S. drone strike (ordered by then-President Trump) that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. Iran has publicly vowed “severe revenge” against Trump and other officials involved in that strike.
Have there been any estimates on when Hezbolloh or homegrown terrorists will spin up attacks on the Homeland?