TEHRAN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Saturday described as "completely baseless" and rejected the claims that the country had been involved in assassination attempts against former and incumbent U.S. officials.
He made the remarks in a statement released by the ministry one day after the U.S. Justice Department said it was bringing criminal charges over an alleged "Iranian plot" to kill President-elect Donald Trump, which was thwarted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Baghaei said other similar accusations had been leveled against Iran in the past, which were proved false and emphatically rejected by the country.
He added that repeating the same claim at present "is a disgusting conspiracy" organized by anti-Iran and Israeli circles to further complicate the issues between Iran and the United States.
Baghaei stressed that, as said before, Iran would use all its legitimate and legal tools at the national and international levels to uphold the Iranian people's rights.
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday it had unsealed an indictment against Farhad Shakeri, 51, alleging that he was tasked with "providing a plan" to kill Trump. It added the suspect had not been arrested and was "believed to be in Iran."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland claimed in a statement released Friday that the Justice Department had charged an "asset of Iran who was tasked by the country to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran's assassination plots against its targets, including Trump." ■
