**Iran-Linked Plot to Assassinate Activist and Former President Uncovered by US Authorities**

Two men from New York have been charged in connection with a scheme to assassinate Brooklyn-based human rights activist Masih Alinejad, federal prosecutors disclosed. The planned attack is said to be orchestrated by an Iranian operative who also had plotted to assassinate Donald J. Trump.

Masih Alinejad, a journalist known for her outspoken criticism of Iran's repression of women, has been a repeated target of kidnapping and murder attempts. According to a recently unsealed criminal complaint, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York revealed that the two men engaged in a lengthy surveillance operation to track Ms. Alinejad. They received orders from a third individual who was acting on behalf of the Iranian government.

The Iranian intermediary reportedly had broader sinister ambitions. In addition to directing the plot against Ms. Alinejad, he also disclosed an assignment from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran to plan the assassination of Donald J. Trump, which was set in motion before the last U.S. presidential election.

Federal authorities apprehended Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathan Loadholt, 36, who were seen in February at Fairfield University in Connecticut, where Ms. Alinejad was scheduled to speak. The day after the event, Rivera received $560, a transaction documented in the criminal complaint. Over the subsequent months, both Rivera and Loadholt monitored Ms. Alinejad's Brooklyn residence, taking photographs and relaying them to the Iranian operative, identified as Farhad Shakeri.

The revelation of these plots underscores an alarming trend of extraterritorial acts of violence directed by the Iranian government, as emphasized by Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He condemned these actions, stressing the urgent need to halt such threats against U.S. citizens and former officials.

Farhad Shakeri, 51, informed federal investigators of his instructions from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, revealing that he was pressed to devise a plan to assassinate Donald J. Trump within a week in October. This double-edged plot highlights the extent of hostile activities allegedly sanctioned by Iran, targeting high-profile critics and former leaders on American soil.