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NEW YORK – Federal authorities have charged an Iranian agent and two associates in a murder-for-hire plot aimed at silencing a prominent Iranian-American critic of the Iranian regime and attacking President-elect Donald J. Trump. Farhad Shakeri, described by prosecutors as an asset in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), allegedly employed criminal associates in New York to conduct surveillance and attempt to assassinate a US citizen critical of Tehran.

The indictment, unsealed by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in the Southern District of New York, names Shakeri, 51, as the orchestrator of the scheme, along with Carlisle Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn, and Jonathan Loadholt, 36. years, from Staten Island. Rivera was arrested on Tuesday, and both Rivera and Loadholt were presented in federal court in New York, where they were ordered held without bail. Shakeri remains at large and is believed to reside in Iran.

Prosecutors allege that Shakeri, who previously served a prison sentence in the United States before being deported, ordered Rivera and Loadholt to locate and kill an Iranian-American activist, identified in court documents as Victim-1. This individual, who lives in the United States, would have been the target of multiple assassination plots attributed to Iranian intelligence operations. Rivera and Loadholt allegedly surveilled the intended victim, including photographing her at a scheduled event earlier this year, in exchange for a promised $100,000 payment from Shakeri.

According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Justice Department’s investigation uncovered additional plots linked to Shakeri, including a directive from the IRGC to devise an assassination plot against President-elect Trump. “We will not tolerate the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and American national security,” Garland said, citing Iran’s “serious threat” to American interests.

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray also highlighted IRGC attacks on dissidents and U.S. officials as part of Iran’s response to the January 2020 death of Qassem Soleimani, a top IRGC commander killed in an aircraft strike. American drones. “The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued and brazen attempts to attack American citizens, including President-elect Donald J. Trump,” Wray said. He added that the FBI remains committed to disrupting Iranian operations that endanger Americans on American soil.

The IRGC, which oversees Iran’s external intelligence and paramilitary operations, has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States since 2019. According to the complaint, Shakeri’s network of associates includes people he met in prison, whom he recruited to conduct surveillance and carry out attacks on behalf of the IRGC.

Shakeri faces charges including murder for hire, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and violation of US sanctions against Iran. If convicted, he and his co-defendants could face decades in prison. The case underscores growing tensions between US authorities and Iran, as well as the risks posed by foreign-backed attempts to attack US citizens and dissidents on US soil.