The U.S. Justice Department has charged an Iranian man and two Canadian citizens for allegedly plotting to murder two people on U.S. soil. One of the intended victims is a defector from Iran.
In a statement, the Justice Department said that between December 2020 through March 2021, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, who is based in Iran, and Canadians Damion Patrick John Ryan, and Adam Richard Pearson conspired to murder two individuals who lived in Maryland. The defendants used the encrypted messaging service “SkyECC” to plot details of the assassination scheme. The Justice Department said Zindashti agreed to pay Ryan $350,000, with an additional $20,000 for expenses.
Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division Suzanne Turner wrote, “Today’s [January 29] charges show a pattern of Iranian groups trying to murder U.S. residents on U.S. soil. Mr. Zindashti and his accomplices’ alleged plot is reprehensible, and the FBI will not tolerate such acts against U.S. residents, and we will continue to pursue these individuals until they are brought to the U.S. to face justice.”
In 2023, the Justice Department brought charges against three individuals who conspired (but failed) to murder an Iranian-born human rights activist in New York city. Two years earlier, the Justice Department charged an Iranian intelligence officer and three other Iranian intelligence assets with plotting to kidnap the same human rights activist and forcibly bring her to Iran. That scheme too was thwarted.
In an action related to the most recent Justice Department charges, the Department of Treasury announced the United States, in coordination with the United Kingdom, is imposing sanctions on Naji Sharifi Zindashti and his network of key associates. That network, the Treasury Department stated, operates at the behest of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and “has carried out numerous acts of transnational repression, including assassinations and kidnappings across multiple jurisdictions in an attempt to silence the Iranian regime’s perceived critics.”
Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement, “The Iranian regime’s continued efforts to target dissidents and activists demonstrate the regime’s deep insecurity and attempt to expand Iran’s domestic repression internationally. The United States, alongside our international allies and partners, including the United Kingdom, will continue to combat the Iranian regime’s transnational repression and will utilize all available tools to stop this threat, especially on U.S. soil.”
