The US says that Mohammad Reza Nouri arranged the killing of Stephen Troell in 2022 as revenge for Qassem Soleimani.
The United States has charged an alleged official of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with “terrorism and murder” over the killing of a US citizen in Iraq in 2022.
The Justice Department released the charges Friday, accusing Mohammad Reza Nouri of orchestrating the assassination of Stephen Troell in Baghdad in retaliation for the US assassination of a top Iranian general. Qassem Soleimani two years earlier.
Troell worked at an English language institute in Iraq, and at the time of his death, the US embassy said he was in the country in a “private capacity” working with the Iraqi people.
But according to the Department of Justice, Nouri apparently “believed” that Troell was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.
The US government has accused Nouri of monitoring Troell and providing weapons, vehicles and safe haven to the gunmen who killed him.
Nouri remains in Iraq, where he was arrested and later convicted for his role in the killing, the Justice Department said.
“The Department of Justice will not tolerate terrorists and authoritarian regimes targeting and murdering Americans anywhere in the world,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“Stephen should be alive today, and the Department of Justice will work diligently to ensure accountability for his murder.
Last year, The Associated Press news agency reported that five people – four Iraqis and one Iranian – were sentenced to life in prison for Troell's murder.
Officials have not publicly named the Iraqi suspects, but told the news agency that the Iranian defendant has been identified as Mohammed Ali Ridha.
Friday's charges against Nouri come amid regional tensions, as Washington lifts sanctions against Tehran and US officials. warning to Iran against advancing their nuclear program.
President-elect Donald Trumpwho ordered the killing of Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad in 2020, intensifying US pressure against Iran when he takes office next month.
Over the past several years, Washington has accused Tehran of plots to kill dissidents and Americans around the world, including on US soil – allegations that Iran has largely denied.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Iran should “focus on itself” and stop being involved in “bad events across the region” after the problems it has suffered from recently, including the blows Israel has dealt to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
