US President Donald Trump, surrounded by Secret Service agents, after a bullet grazed his ear. (Twitter Screenshot)
A Pakistani national, Asif Merchant, was arrested in July 2024 and charged with working with Iran in connection with the alleged plot.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that American forces killed the leader of an Iranian unit tied to a plot to assassinate President Trump, saying the strike took place during ongoing US military operations against Iran.
Hegseth said the individual was targeted in an aerial strike Tuesday after US forces identified an opportunity to act against people involved in threats against Americans. He did not identify the person killed.
“Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth said.
The defense secretary said eliminating that figure was not the central aim of the broader campaign, which he said had been focused primarily on destroying Iranian missile launchers and related capabilities.
“On the first question, we’ve known for a long time that Iran had intentions of trying to kill President Trump and/or other U.S. officials,” Hegseth said, adding that those responsible were eventually included among potential targets as operations progressed.
He said the military took action once an opportunity arose during air operations.
“But ultimately, if we had the opportunity to get at those who are trying to get at Americans specifically, we would, and so we eventually had the opportunity to do that from the air,” he said.
US authorities have previously accused Tehran of organizing attempts to kill Trump.
The Justice Department alleged that in 2024 a man had been tasked with carrying out a plan to assassinate the then-presidential candidate.
A Pakistani national, Asif Merchant, was arrested in July 2024 and charged with working with Iran in connection with the alleged plot.
Merchant is currently on trial, and prosecutors say he outlined an assassination plan with another man who was secretly cooperating with the FBI.
US officials have also revealed charges tied to a 2022 Iranian plot targeting John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser and a key architect of the “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
Neither the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, during Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign nor a separate incident at his Florida golf course was linked to Iran, according to officials.
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