The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on January 29, the indictment of three individuals for conspiring to assassinate dissident Iranians who opposed the Iranian regime. The Iranian-based narco-trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti is a protected asset by the Iranian government, to include the Iranian Ministry of State Security (MOIS) headed up this effort.
Iranian Deja Vu
Readers of ClearanceJobs will recall that in September 2021, it was revealed that five Iranian nationals were operating on behalf of Iranian intelligence in the United States. Their tasking was to obtain information on dissidents and opponents of the regime, to include kidnapping a targeted individual. Indeed, in the 2021 indictment, it was clear that Iran enjoyed a robust intelligence gathering apparatus within the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
The recent DOJ indictment identified the three individuals who conspired to murder two residents of Maryland as:
- Naji Sharifi Zindashti – resides in Iran and is charged with orchestrating the assassination plot
- Damion Patrick John Ryan – is Canadian and a full-patch member of the outlaw Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
- Adam Richard Pearson – is also Canadian and was living under an assumed name in Minnesota when the conspiracy was being discussed.
In addition, there was a fourth individual involved an unidentified co-conspirator who resides in Iran and participated in the clandestine communication between Zindashti and Ryan.
In January 2021, the deal was struck via SkyECC message exchange where Ryan agreed to conduct the assassination for $350,000 and $20,000 in travel expenses. Ryan recruited Pearson and they agreed to handle the assassination for Zindashti. Once the agreement was reached, the Iranian began sharing with the duo the identities of their targets, addresses and other information which the Iranian’s had compiled. (NB: It would stand to reason that those activities revealed in 2021 are associated with these recent revelations, which occurred contemporaneously.)
The charges levied per the DoJ are “All three of the defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. Pearson is also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a fugitive from justice and one count of possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States.”
“To those in Iran who plot murders on U.S. soil and the criminal actors who work with them, let today’s charges send a clear message: the Department of Justice will pursue you as long as it takes – and wherever you are – and deliver justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Treasury again sanctions Iranians
Just like they did in 2021, the Department of Treasury (DOT) announced sanctions as a result of this transnational oppression of speech on the part of the Iranian government.
“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,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson. “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.”
Those sanctioned, in addition to Zindashti, were identified by the DoT as follows:
- Reza Hamidiravari, an MOIS officer, oversees Zindashti’s MOIS-directed operations.
- Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan (Asan) is a close Zindashti associate also based in Iran who has played a pivotal role in logistical planning for many of the network’s operations, including the network’s plot to assassinate individuals in the United States.
- Ekrem Abdulkerym Oztunc (Oztunc), Zindashti’s nephew, is also a close associate and key lieutenant in Zindashti’s network residing in Iran. In his role as Zindashti’s close aide, Oztunc has assisted Asan and Zindashti in sensitive communications. Oztunc was previously arrested alongside Zindashti in Istanbul in 2018 on murder charges.
- Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Zavieh Jakki (Jakki) is Zindashti’s brother-in-law living in Iran and is active in the Zindashti criminal network. Jakki has aided Zindashti by coordinating with Zindashti’s MOIS handler on operational logistics and finances.
Zindashti is currently believed to be in Iran, enjoying the protection of the MOIS/IRGC. While Ryan and Pearson are currently sitting behind bars in Canada on unrelated charges.
