2024-08-14 23:29:40
Analyst David Ignatius argues that while the world is focused on Iran’s threats against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the United States has been a target of Iranian assassination attempts for years.
He wrote about this in a Washington Post column.
These plots, Ignatius noted, are part of Tehran’s revenge for the assassinations of senior Iranian officials such as Major General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in January 2020.
Iran uses a variety of methods to recruit assassins in the United States, often using members of gangs and criminal organizations. Despite these efforts, the FBI has thwarted several assassination attempts, including plots against former U.S. officials such as John Bolton and Mark T. Esper.
In the latest plot to be uncovered, a Pakistani named Asif Raza Merchant was arrested for plotting to assassinate an American politician or official. It continues Iran’s pattern of retaliating for Soleimani’s death, as Attorney General Merrick Garland and annual intelligence reports to Congress have highlighted.
Ignatius noted that Iran’s assassination campaign extends beyond Israel and poses a significant threat to the United States as well.
Justice Department documents detail Iran’s elaborate and often botched attempts to carry out these plots, demonstrating the ongoing dangers American officials face from Iranian retaliation efforts.
Earlier, Cursor wrote that the US “decided to respond” to Iran’s military exercises.