Did Iran try to kill Trump? About Pete Hegseth's 'last laugh' comment

Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAYThu, March 5, 2026 at 8:47 PM UTC

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Did Iran try to kill Trump? About Pete Hegseth's 'last laugh' comment

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the leader of an Iranian military unit that tried to assassinate President Donald Trump has been killed.

“Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth said at a press briefing on March 4. “We’ve known for a long time that Iran had intentions on trying to kill President Trump and/or other U.S. officials ... We eventually had the opportunity to (target them) from the air.”

Hegseth emphasized that it was not the priority in the U.S. strikes on Iran, which started alongside Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. Trump and other officials have said the strikes on Iran are meant to halt Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, although critics have said claims about Iranian military capabilities were wrong or exaggerated.

But when did Iran try to target Trump? Here is what to know:

Live updates: At least 1,230 dead in Iran; Trump's war powers up for vote

1 / 0Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran

Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.

Did Iran try to kill Donald Trump?

In 2024, the Department of Justice charged Iranian man Farhad Shakeri with murder-for-hire and conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

"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," a statement by then Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in November 2024 states. "We have also charged and arrested two individuals who we allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on U.S. soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime."

Shakeri was believed to be living in Iran at the time of his criminal charges, but he was at large. The DOJ alleged he used a network of criminal associations he met in prison before he was deported to carry out missions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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Shakeri told law enforcement he was tasked on Oct. 7, 2024, with providing a plan to kill Trump, according to the DOJ release.

How many assassination attempts have been made on Trump?

The alleged plot did not come to fruition, but Trump survived two other assassination attempts that year.

On July 13, 2024, Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman positioned on a rooftop near the rally fired multiple shots toward the then-presidential candidate. Trump was shot in the ear and ducked behind the lectern as Secret Service agents swarmed him and ushered him off stage. The shooter was later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and he was killed by law enforcement. A spectator at the rally was also killed.

On Sept. 15, 2024, Trump was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Secret Service officers spotted a rifle poking through the fenced perimeter of the course. The agents fired at the suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, and chased after him. He was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to kill Trump on Feb. 4, 2026.

There have also been several security scares at Trump's family properties over the years. Most recently, an alleged armed intruder was fatally shot by U.S. Secret Service on Feb. 22 after breaching the perimeter at Mar-a-Lago.

Contributing: Bart Jansen, Michael Loria, Hannah Phillips, Antonio Fins, USA TODAY Network

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Bluesky and TikTok.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How many assassination attempts on Trump? Hegseth says Iran unit is out

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