US says Mohammad Reza Nouri orchestrated the killing of Stephen Troell in 2022 as revenge for Qassem Soleimani.
The US has charged an alleged officer of Iran’s Islamic Modern Guard Corps (IRGC) with “terrorism and homicide” over the killing of a US citizen in Iraq in 2022.
The Division of Justice launched the costs on Friday, accusing Mohammad Reza Nouri of orchestrating the killing of Stephen Troell in Baghdad in retaliation for the United States assassination of most sensible Iranian Basic Qassem Soleimani two years prior.
Troell labored at an English-language institute in Iraq, and on the time of his loss of life, the United States embassy mentioned he used to be within the nation in a “personal capability” running with the Iraqi other people.
However consistent with the Justice Division, Nouri “seems to have believed” that Troell used to be running as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.
The United States govt has accused Nouri of tracking Troell and offering guns, automobiles and protected harbour to the gunmen who killed him.
Nouri stays in Iraq, the place he used to be arrested and therefore convicted for his position within the killing, the Justice Division mentioned.
“The Division of Justice won’t tolerate terrorists and authoritarian regimes concentrated on and murdering American citizens anyplace on the earth,” Lawyer Basic Merrick Garland mentioned in a observation.
“Stephen must nonetheless be alive lately, and the Justice Division will paintings relentlessly to make sure responsibility for his homicide.”
Ultimate yr, The Related Press information company reported that 5 other people — 4 Iraqis and one Iranian — have been sentenced to existence in jail over the homicide of Troell.
Officers didn’t publicly identify the Iraqi suspects, however they did inform the inside track company the Iranian defendant used to be recognized as Mohammed Ali Ridha.
Friday’s fees towards Nouri come amid regional tensions, as Washington piles on sanctions towards Tehran and US officers warn Iran towards advancing its nuclear programme.
President-elect Donald Trump, who ordered the killing of Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad in 2020, is predicted to accentuate US drive towards Iran when he is taking place of business subsequent month.
Over the last a number of years, Washington has accused Tehran of plots to kill dissidents and American citizens all over the world, together with on US soil — accusations that Iran has in large part denied.
Previous this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Iran must “center of attention on itself” and prevent getting taken with “misadventures all the way through the area” after the new setbacks it has suffered, together with the blows Israel has dealt to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
