The FBI has launched an urgent manhunt for an Iranian secret intelligence official accused of plotting to assassinate Trump administration officials.
Federal agents say Majid Dastjani Farahani has attempted to recruit allies in the country to assassinate current and former U.S. government officials in revenge for the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
In an urgent notice Friday, the FBI’s Miami office asked for information about Farahani, who reportedly speaks Spanish and frequently moves between Iran and Venezuela, where the ruling regime is friendly to Iran.
“Farahani is wanted for questioning in connection with the recruitment of individuals for various operations in the United States, including deadly attacks on current and former U.S. government officials in revenge for the assassination of IRGC-QF commander Qasem Soleimani,” the FBI said. .
Farahani also allegedly recruited individuals for surveillance activities targeting religious sites, businesses and other facilities in the United States. Farahani was acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.”
Federal agents say Majid Dastjani Farahani tried to recruit allies in the country to assassinate current and former US government officials
“Farahani also allegedly recruited individuals for surveillance activities targeting religious sites, businesses, and other facilities throughout the United States,” the FBI said.
Iran has vowed to take revenge on the US after the killing of Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the overseas branch of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
The FBI has asked anyone with information to contact their local FBI office or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
Iran has vowed to take revenge on the US after the killing of Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the overseas branch of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
Soleimani was killed in Iraq in January 2020 in a drone strike ordered by then-President Donald Trump.
In addition to Pompeo, the FBI also believes Iran is also targeting Brian Hook, Trump’s envoy in Tehran, the agency said. Semafor.
Both Pompeo and Hook are currently under 24-hour security due to the increased threat level.
Farahani was sanctioned in December by the Treasury Department, which alleged he works for Iran to “aggressively attack and suppress opponents and dissenting voices.”
Ties between Iran and Venezuela have become increasingly apparent as Iran uses the South American nation as a friendly base in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump officials reportedly targeted by the Iranian agent included former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
In 2021, two men were arrested in New York City after attacking Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad in a failed kidnapping attempt
In 2021, two men were arrested in New York City after attacking Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad in a failed kidnapping attempt.
The FBI said the two Iranian agents planned to lure Alinejad, a U.S. citizen, from her home in Brooklyn to Venezuela, where they would arrest her and send her back to Iran.
The Iranians had a live feed of her home and were investigating how to get the author out of New York, according to the charging documents. One of the four investigated a service that offers “military-style speedboats for self-operated maritime evacuation from New York City, and maritime travel from New York to Venezuela, a country whose de facto government maintains friendly relations with Iran,” according to the Justice Department . said.
The conspirators, who remain at large, also plotted to lure one person in Britain and three others in Canada to Iran, an indictment said. They were also all critical of Iran.
This is not the first time Tehran has plotted to assassinate former US government officials.
In 2022, the Justice Department indicted several members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for plotting to assassinate Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton.