President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, was allegedly targeted in an assassination plot tied to an Iraqi national accused of coordinating multiple terror attacks linked to Iran-backed militant groups, according to an exclusive report from the New York Post.
Citing sources familiar with the investigation, The Post on Friday night reported that 32-year-old Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi allegedly discussed plans to kill Ivanka Trump in retaliation for the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.
“After Qasem was killed, he [Al-Saadi] went around telling people ‘we need to kill Ivanka to burn down the house of Trump the way he burned down our house,'” Entifadh Qanbar, who is a former deputy military attaché in the Iraqi embassy in Washington, told The Post.
According to the report, Al-Saadi allegedly referred to Soleimani as a mentor and vowed revenge against the Trump family after Soleimani’s death. Sources told the media outlet he obtained or discussed obtaining a blueprint of Ivanka Trump’s Florida home and allegedly posted online threats referencing surveillance of the property.
The news comes a week after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Al-Saadi’s arrest. The DOJ said he was charged with six counts of terrorism-related offenses “for his activities as an operative of Kata’ib Hizballah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),” including his involvement in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks throughout Europe and the U.S.
The DOJ said said filings show the attacks included bombings, stabbings, arson, and plots against synagogues and U.S.-linked facilities.
“Thanks to the dedication and vigilance of law enforcement, this alleged terrorist commander is now in U.S. custody,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release.
“These charges show American law enforcement will never let such evil go unchecked and will use all tools to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations and their leaders,” he added.
Prosecutors said Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey earlier this month and extradited to the U.S., where he now faces federal terrorism-related charges in New York. The charges, according to the DOJ, include the following:
- Conspiring to provide material support to Kata’ib Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison
- Conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC, a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison
- Conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism of attempting and conspiring to murder nationals of the U.S., and bombing and conspiring to bomb a place of public use, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison
- Providing material support for acts of terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison
- Conspiring to bomb a place of public use, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison
- Attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosive, which carries a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison
Ivanka Trump, who converted to Orthodox Judaism before marrying Kushner in 2009, has not publicly commented on the reported threat. The White House also did not immediately respond to the allegations, according to The Post.
