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US says kills Iranian leader of Trump assassination plot

AL-Monitor
Mar 4, 2026
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz — Elizabeth Frantz

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday that it killed an Iranian official who headed a unit behind an alleged assassination plot against President Donald Trump.

"The leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed. Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a news briefing.

Hegseth did not name the individual but said the operation took place on Tuesday.

In 2024, the U.S. Justice Department charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot ordered by the IRGC to assassinate Trump, then U.S. president-elect.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu, editing by Michelle Nichols )