The U.S. military has killed an Iranian official accused of leading a unit linked to an alleged plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, though officials stressed the individual was not the original focus of the current conflict.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that the Iranian operative, described as the leader of the unit behind the alleged assassination attempt, was killed during a military operation on Tuesday.
“The leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,” Hegseth said during a briefing. “Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh.”
Hegseth said the individual was added to the list of military targets during the conflict but was not the initial objective of the campaign.
“While that was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination — in fact, it was never raised by the President or anybody else — I ensured, and others ensured, that those responsible were eventually included on the target list,” he said.
The Pentagon did not disclose the identity of the official.
In 2024, the U.S. Justice Department charged an Iranian man over an alleged plot ordered by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate Trump, who at the time was the U.S. president-elect.
Iran has repeatedly denied accusations that it planned attacks against Trump or other U.S. officials.
