Authorities recently arrested 32-year-old Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national allegedly trained by Iran’s , over a reported assassination plot targeting US President Donald Trump’s daughter , according to a report by the New York Post.
The New York Post reported, citing sources, that he had pledged to avenge the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and was found with a blueprint of Ivanka Trump’s Florida residence.
The alleged plan was said to be aimed at Trump’s family in retaliation for Soleimani’s death, the New York Post reported.
“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, a former deputy military attaché in the Iraqi embassy in Washington, told The Post.
“We heard that he had a plan of Ivanka’s house in Florida,” Qanbar added.
However, investigators have not determined why Al-Saadi specifically chose Ivanka Trump as his alleged target.
Ivanka, now 44, converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2009 before marrying real estate businessman Jared Kushner, and the couple share three children. Kushner, who serves as a special envoy in the Trump administration, has recently been engaged in diplomatic discussions involving Iran.
Who was Dawood Al-Saadi?
Al-Saadi is suspected of orchestrating multiple attacks against American and Jewish-linked targets, including the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon office in Amsterdam earlier this year, in March.
The Iraqi national was arrested in 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 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.
Where is Al-Saadi now?
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, ‘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 hHouse 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.
(With inputs from agencies)
