IRGC linked operative extradited to US over Ivanka Trump plot

A high-ranking operative tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iraqi militia Kata’ib Hizballah has been extradited to the United States following his arrest in Turkey on May 15.

The operative is accused of plotting the assassination of First Daughter Ivanka Trump as part of a transnational campaign of violence.

The Department of Justice has charged 32-year-old Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi with orchestrating or attempting 18 separate attacks across Europe and the United States.

According to intelligence sources, Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national, specifically targeted President Donald Trump’s family to avenge the death of his mentor, Iranian Quds Force Major General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad six years ago.

Blueprints threats target Florida

Sources claim that Al-Saadi made an explicit pledge to assassinate Ivanka Trump, 44, who converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2009 prior to her marriage to property magnate Jared Kushner.

“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,’” said Entifadh Qanbar, a former deputy military attaché in the Iraqi embassy in Washington.

Qanbar and a second source confirmed that Al-Saadi had acquired blueprints of the $24 million Florida home where Ivanka Trump resides with her husband.

Furthermore, Al-Saadi utilized the social media platform X to post a satellite map showing the specific Florida enclave where the home is located. The map was paired with an Arabic caption warning:

“I say to the Americans look at this picture and know that neither your palaces nor the Secret Service will protect you. We are currently in the stage of surveillance and analysis. I told you, our revenge is a matter of time.”

Federal court documents also indicate that Al-Saadi regularly used Snapchat and other digital platforms to threaten potential targets, often transmitting photographs of a pistol fitted with a silencer.

Transnational target ledger

According to the Department of Justice, Al-Saadi’s operational history includes a series of executed and foiled attacks primarily targeting Western and Jewish facilities.

US prosecutors have linked him to the March firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam, a March shooting at the US consulate building in Toronto, and the April stabbing of two Jewish individuals in London.

He additionally planned, coordinated, or claimed responsibility for the arson of a temple in Rotterdam and the bombing of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Senior Fellow at the New Lines Institute who was held hostage by Kata’ib Hezbollah for 903 days before her release in September 2025, noted that Al-Saadi’s deep integration into regional proxy groups stemmed from his historical ties to Soleimani.

Following Soleimani's death, Al-Saadi maintained a direct relationship with his replacement, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, who continued supplying resources to Al-Saadi’s network.

Qanbar added that Al-Saadi viewed Soleimani as a father figure following the 2006 death of his biological father, Ahmad Kazemi, an Iranian brigadier general.

Though raised by his Iraqi mother in Baghdad, Al-Saadi completed extensive military training in Tehran with the IRGC.

He later established a travel agency specializing in religious tours, which Qanbar alleged was used as a front to move internationally and interface with global terror cells.

When Turkish authorities intercepted Al-Saadi last week while he was in transit to Russia, he was found in possession of an official Iraqi service passport.

This high-level government travel document -which requires the explicit consent of the Iraqi Prime Minister to be issued- granted Al-Saadi VIP airport lounge access, accelerated visa approvals, and allowed him to bypass standard security screenings at Iraqi airports.

Legal status

Despite his extensive involvement in clandestine operations, Al-Saadi maintained a highly visible and active digital footprint.

Federal indictments include imagery he posted to Snapchat showing him consulting over military maps alongside Soleimani at an Iranian military facility.

Other public social media posts featured the operative posing at international landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Following his extradition, Al-Saadi has been placed in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The facility currently houses several other high-profile federal inmates, including accused CEO shooter Luigi Mangione and captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

The White House did not issue a response to requests for comment regarding the uncovered assassination plot, and a lawyer representing Al-Saadi similarly declined to comment.