FBI: Suspected Assassin is Targeting U.S. Officials

This article originally appeared on The Epoch Times and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Jack Phillips

The FBI office in Miami, Florida, sent an alert on that it is “seeking information” on an Iranian intelligence officer who is wanted in connection to assassination plots against U.S. officials after the killing of former Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in early 2020.

Majid Dastjani Farahani, the officer, “is wanted for questioning in connection with the recruitment of individuals for various operations in the United States, to include lethal targeting of current and former United States Government officials as revenge for the killing of IRGC-QF Commander Qassem Soleimani,” the federal law enforcement agency said this week in a “most wanted“ notice.

A U.S. State Department-designated terrorist since 2005, Mr. Soleimani was killed during a Trump administration-ordered targeted airstrike on Jan. 3, 2020, near Baghdad, Iraq, for the killings of American soldiers and plots to target Americans.

At the time, Iran vowed to take revenge against the United States and officials who were involved. Two months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, Iran released a statement saying that the Hamas attack was “one of the revenges” for the Iranian general’s death.

The FBI added that Mr. Farahani has “reportedly recruited individuals for surveillance activities focused on religious sites, businesses, and other facilities in the United States,” adding that he has “acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.”

The bulletin did not say whether he is in the United States, but it noted that he “has ties” to or “may visit” Venezuela or Iran. It then advised that anyone with information about Mr. Farahani is advised to contact a local FBI office, a U.S. consulate, or a U.S. Embassy.

The FBI also included a photo of the individual, while noting he has brown and gray hair, brown eyes, and was born on July 26, 1982. No other details were released.

Some reports, citing anonymous officials, said this week that Mr. Farahani specifically is targeting former Trump administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a special envoy, Brian Hook. The Epoch Times has contacted the FBI for comment Tuesday.

Previous Sanctions

Mr. Farahani was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in December 2023, which said he was working to “aggressively target and stifle opponents and dissenting voices.”

Read the full story at The Epoch Times.