US says Mohammad Reza Nouri orchestrated the killing of Stephen Troell in 2022 as revenge for Qassem Soleimani.
America has charged an alleged officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with “terrorism and homicide” over the killing of a US citizen in Iraq in 2022.
The Division of Justice launched the fees on Friday, accusing Mohammad Reza Nouri of orchestrating the killing of Stephen Troell in Baghdad in retaliation for the US assassination of high Iranian Common Qassem Soleimani two years prior.
Troell labored at an English-language institute in Iraq, and on the time of his loss of life, the US embassy mentioned he was within the nation in a “personal capability” working with the Iraqi individuals.
However in response to the Justice Division, Nouri “seems to have believed” that Troell was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.
The US authorities has accused Nouri of monitoring Troell and offering weapons, autos and secure harbour to the gunmen who killed him.
Nouri stays in Iraq, the place he was arrested and subsequently convicted for his position within the killing, the Justice Division mentioned.
“The Division of Justice won’t tolerate terrorists and authoritarian regimes focusing on and murdering Individuals anyplace on the earth,” Lawyer Common Merrick Garland mentioned in an announcement.
“Stephen ought to nonetheless be alive right now, and the Justice Division will work relentlessly to make sure accountability for his homicide.”
Final 12 months, The Related Press information company reported that 5 individuals — 4 Iraqis and one Iranian — have been sentenced to life in jail over the homicide of Troell.
Officers didn’t publicly title the Iraqi suspects, however they did inform the information company the Iranian defendant was recognized as Mohammed Ali Ridha.
Friday’s expenses 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 anticipated to accentuate US stress towards Iran when he takes workplace subsequent month.
Over the previous a number of years, Washington has accused Tehran of plots to kill dissidents and Individuals world wide, together with on US soil — accusations that Iran has largely denied.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Iran ought to “concentrate on itself” and cease getting concerned in “misadventures all through the area” after the latest setbacks it has suffered, together with the blows Israel has dealt to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
