The U.S. Department of Justice announced today, Friday, that it has thwarted an Iranian plot to assassinate the elected American president, Donald Trump, for a fee.

According to U.S. authorities, Farhad Shakri, an accused Iranian who spent some time in U.S. prisons for theft, revealed details of the plot. Shakri, whom authorities say is connected to a network of criminals, confirmed that he was tasked by a senior Iranian official in the Revolutionary Guard to plan an assassination operation for Trump.

Shakri stated in his testimony to investigators that he received instructions last September to devise a plan to kill Trump within a week, noting that the Iranian official told him that “money is not an issue” and that if the operation could not be executed on time, it would be postponed after the election, as the official believed that Trump would lose the election and it would be easier to kill him afterward.

Shakri added that others were recruited to carry out other assassination plots, including targeting an Iranian-American journalist. In a later development, two other men involved in these plots were arrested.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed in a statement that “Iran poses a serious threat to U.S. national security,” noting that the plot is part of Iran's ongoing efforts to target U.S. officials, including Trump. It is worth mentioning that relations between Washington and Tehran were significantly tense during Trump's presidency, particularly after he withdrew from the nuclear deal and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran.

For his part, Stephen Cheng, Trump's spokesperson, stated that the elected president was aware of the plot and added that “nothing will prevent him from returning to the White House and restoring peace around the world.”