The U.S. Indicts an IRGC Member in Connection with the Murder of an American

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has indicted Mohammad Reza Noori, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on charges of terrorism and involvement in the murder of an American citizen named Steven Troll on November 7, 2022, in Baghdad. Mohammad Reza Noori, 36, known as 'Abu Abbas', is accused of coordinating the operation to kill this American citizen by secretly monitoring his newspaper activities and coordinating the actions of the perpetrators of this crime. Edward Kim, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General, Christopher Wray, FBI Director, and David Sundberg, Assistant to the FBI Director, released these charges. Steven Troll, who was 45 at the time of his murder, was from Tennessee and worked as an English teacher in Iraq. He was shot while driving home with his wife, and died after suffering severe injuries. According to the statement, Mohammad Reza Noori collected information about Steven Troll's daily activities and personal matters, including his residence, work schedule, and family details, and in addition to preparing the logistics for this crime, including firearms and vehicles, he was in contact with his accomplices before and after the murder. Noori, who according to the U.S. Department of Justice is a captain in the IRGC, fled to Iran after the murder and facilitated the safe housing of the executors of this crime. Iraqi authorities arrested him in March 2023 and later convicted him in connection with Steven Troll's murder. The charges against this IRGC member from the U.S. include 'conspiracy to provide substantial support to a foreign terrorist organization that resulted in murder, conspiracy to murder American citizens, and causing death using a firearm.' If found guilty, Mohammad Reza Noori could face life imprisonment or the death penalty. The murder of Steven Troll occurred as part of the IRGC's efforts to kill American citizens and those of its allied countries in response to the U.S. drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, on January 3, 2020. The U.S. Attorney General stated that the U.S. will not tolerate the efforts of terrorists and authoritarian regimes to kill American citizens anywhere in the world. The FBI Director called this act a 'ruthless conspiracy' and emphasized that the U.S. will hold the IRGC accountable. The acting U.S. Attorney also promised continued cooperation with international partners to achieve justice in the Troll murder case. The Iranian government and the IRGC have repeatedly carried out assassinations of their opponents and critics in Western countries over the years and decades, and in recent years, several plots by this government to assassinate Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, and some other officials of his administration have been thwarted.