Leader of Assassination Plot Against President Trump Killed

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this morning that the U.S. military took out the leader who plotted to assassinate Trump: “Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh.”

Hegseth’s words were direct: The individual who led the effort to target President Trump “has been hunted down and killed.”

As reported by Axios:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said the Iranian leader who planned to assassinate President Trump was killed.

“Yesterday, the leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed. Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth said during a press briefing.

In 2024, the Justice Department unsealed a criminal complaint revealing that Farhad Shakeri, 51, had been charged with murder-for-hire.

He allegedly told FBI agents in September 2024 that an Iranian official tasked him with assassinating Trump. Further details about the Iranian official were not shared at the time.

The killing comes as the U.S. and Israel plans further attacks on Iran, Hegseth said.

“Now, this is not a mission accomplished situation. This is simply a reality check. The combination of U.S. and Israeli intelligence and combat power will control Iran, and will control it soon,” he told reporters.

“Sure, Iran will still be able to shoot some missiles and still be able to launch one-way attack drones at civilian targets, and their proxies will attempt to attack our embassies, bases, and soft targets,” he added.

Hegseth continued, “They are terrorists, after all, and they need to target civilians because they can’t fight toe-to-toe. But we will find them, and we will kill them.”

It sounds surreal to even say out loud, but an organized unit inside the Iranian regime, reportedly under the umbrella of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had been tasked with deadly retaliation against President Trump, prior to his reelection. I also want to point out that Sec. Hegseth framed this not as a “mission accomplished.” He emphasized operational control, disrupting leadership, and preventing further attacks. There was no mention of regime-building, for those who are worried the United States is planning to set up shop long-term in Iran.

Many of us remember the Iraq War. We remember the banner behind George W. Bush on the aircraft carrier, and how a military engagement that began with speed and clarity – termed “shock and awe” – turned into a decades-long entanglement. Those memories don’t just disappear because a different Administration is in charge.

Hegseth knows Americans are wary, and he even acknowledged it. It’s important to note that the Secretary also served during the war on terror, so if anyone understands the public response – particularly the skepticism – it’s probably Hegseth.

Iran’s regime has brutally suppressed its own people. Iran has arrested or killed thousands of its own people for protesting. Women have been imprisoned for defying dress codes, where unspeakable horrors awaited them. Iranian Christians have been tortured just for owning Bibles. To come to their defense, our legal team is currently preparing to deliver an oral intervention at the U.N. Human Rights Council on behalf of Iranian Christians and other victims of Iran’s human rights abuses.

Meanwhile, Trump critics have continually pointed to the President’s campaign motto of “no new wars.” I get where they’re coming from, but that criticism is either disingenuous or simply ill-informed. 

We must never forget that the world is full of evil operators. While we assume basic norms, such as don’t target civilian populations, don’t use schools as shields, and don’t plot to assassinate heads of state – sadly, not every regime shares those assumptions.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of the death of the mastermind of an assassination plot against President Trump. We were also joined by the head of ACLJ Jerusalem, Jeff Ballabon, who currently remains stateside waiting for the travel bans to Israel to be lifted. We were also joined by ACLJ Senior Counsel CeCe Heil with an update on a major legal victory the ACLJ just achieved on behalf of a U.S. soldier who was targeted by Biden’s war on Christians.

Watch the full broadcast below: