The three accused are Farhad Shakeri, 51, of Iran; Carlisle Rivera, also known as Pop, 49, of Brooklyn, New York; and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island, New York.

The last two men have been arrested while Shakeri, who is a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is said to be in Iran. He had immigrated to the US as a child but was deported after serving 14 years in jail for robbery.

"At Shakeri's instruction, Loadholt and Rivera have spent months surveilling a US citizen of Iranian origin residing in the United States (Victim-1),” the justice department said in a statement.

"Victim-1 is an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime and has been the target of multiple prior plots for kidnapping and/or murder directed by the Government of Iran. In exchange for Shakeri's promise of $100,000, Rivera and Loadholt repeatedly sought to locate Victim-1 for murder."

The Justice Department went on to say: "During their efforts to locate and kill Victim-1, Shakeri, Loadholt, and Rivera shared messages about their progress and photographs relating to their scheme. For example, in or about February 2024, Rivera and Loadholt messaged about an incoming payment from Shakeri, and then traveled to Fairfield University, where Victim-1 was scheduled to appear, and took photographs on campus.

"In or about April, Shakeri sent Rivera a series of voice notes discussing their efforts to locate and kill Victim-1. In one voice note, Shakeri told Rivera that Victim-1 spent most of her time in particular locations of her home, and told Rivera that you just gotta have patience … You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it. Don’t think about going in. On several occasions over the last several months, consistent with this instruction from Shakeri, Rivera and/or Loadholt have surveilled a location in Brooklyn that they had identified as associated with Victim-1.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland said: "There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran. The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.

"We have also charged and arrested two individuals who we allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on US soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime. We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America's national security."