Iran denies involvement in plot to kill Trump, offers him olive branch

Abbas Araghchi (front) saying prayers with Mohammad Javad Zarif (first from right) and Masoud Pezeshkian (second from right)
Abbas Araghchi (front) saying prayers with Mohammad Javad Zarif (first from right) and Masoud Pezeshkian (second from right)

Iran's foreign minister on Saturday dismissed allegations about Iran's involvement in a plot to assassinate US President-elect Donald Trump, calling it a fabricated scenario.

The US Justice Department on Friday unsealed murder-for-hire charges against an Afghan national named Farhad Shakeri, 51, who it said was tasked by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with assassinating Trump. Shakeri now lives in Iran, according to the indictment.

In a post on his X account, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the accusation is part of a scenario, and that no one "in their right mind believes that a supposed assassin sits in Iran and talks online to the FBI."

Earlier in the day, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman had denied the Justice Department's accusation, calling it completely baseless and unacceptable.

The Islamic Republic's denial of any engagement in plots to assassinate Trump comes as its authorities have publicly vowed to kill Trump, his former foreign secretary Mike Pompeo and some other US officials in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani.

In one of the most recent cases, the IRGC Aerospace commander made the promise in a televised interview in February 2023, saying: "Inshallah (God willing) we will be able to kill Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, (former CENTCOM chief Kenneth) McKenzie, and others who ordered killing of Qasem Soleimani."

Iran calls for mutual respect

In his Saturday statement, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the allegations are part of "a repulsive conspiracy by Zionist (Israeli) and anti-Iranian circles aimed at further complicating issues between the United States and Iran."

But he was not the only official who expressed concern about Tehran's relations with the incoming Trump administration. The foreign minister, Araghchi, also tried to offer an olive branch to the president-elect, who in 2020 ordered the assassination of former IRGC Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, and imposed toughest sanctions on Iran as part of his so-called "maximum pressure" policy.

"The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect," Araghchi said in his Saturday tweet.

He added that "Iran is NOT after nuclear weapons, period. This is a policy based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations. Confidence-building is needed from both sides. It is not a one-way street."