Washington DC: First daughter of US President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, was allegedly targeted in an assassination plot by an Iraqi-operated, trained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a news report by the New York Post.
The suspect, identified as Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, allegedly sought revenge for the 2020 US drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump in his earlier term that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.
According to the news report, Al-Saadi possessed a blueprint of Ivanka Trump's Florida residence and allegedly posted online threats warning Americans that "neither your palaces nor the Secret Service will protect you." Former Iraqi diplomat Entifadh Qanbar told the newspaper that Al-Saadi repeatedly spoke of killing Ivanka Trump "to burn down the house of Trump the way he burned down our house."
The Iraqi national was arrested in Turkey on May 15 before being extradited to the United States. Authorities accuse him of involvement in 18 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and North America, including alleged firebombings, shootings, stabbings, and attacks targeting Jewish sites and American diplomatic facilities.
The news report stated that Al-Saadi operated on behalf of the Iran-backed militia Kata'ib Hezbollah and maintained close ties with the IRGC. Researcher and former hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov reportedly said the suspect had close connections to Soleimani and later to his successor, Esmail Qaani.
Investigators also allege that Al-Saadi used an Iraqi service passport and a travel agency as cover to move between countries and coordinate with terror cells. Despite his alleged covert role, he frequently posted on social media, sharing selfies from European landmarks and images involving weapons systems.
Al-Saadi is currently being held in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as US authorities continue their investigation, according to the New York Post.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday (local time) was preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, sources with direct knowledge of the planning told CBS News.
No final decision on strikes had been reached, the sources told CBS News.
Several members of the US military and intelligence community are said to have cancelled their plans for the Memorial Day weekend after the news of probable strikes.
As per CBS News, Trump had planned to spend Memorial Day weekend at his golf property in New Jersey but will now return to the White House, as per CBS News.
Trump on Friday (local time) said that he will be missing his son Donald Trump Jr's wedding owing to ongoing twists and turns in the international community.
Trump confirmed that he will not attend his son's wedding to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, citing "circumstances pertaining to government" without providing details, adding that "it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time."
Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that his son's wedding was "not good timing" because of "a thing called Iran and other things".
He is also now expected to return to the White House on Friday evening after a speech in New York. He was originally scheduled to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf club and return on Sunday, as per Politico.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
