FBI hunts suspected Iranian spy who allegedly planned Pompeo assassination, other U.S. officials

In a complex web of intrigue and revenge, U.S. authorities are on the trail of an alleged Iranian spy accused of conspiring to assassinate former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other senior officials in the country.

The man in question, Majid Dastjani Farahani, a 41-year-old polyglot individual who is fluent in Farsi, French, Spanish and English, has become a key piece on the chessboard of tensions between the United States and Iran.

According to an alert issued Friday by the FBI's Miami field office, Farahani, an alleged member of Iran's brutal Ministry of Intelligence and Security, has been recruiting individuals to carry out lethal operations inside the United States, with the goal of revenge. for the death of General Qasem Soleimani, killed in an airstrike ordered by the Trump government in 2020.

The shadow of Soleimani, the feared commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, looms over this disturbing case like an implacable specter. His death, allegedly orchestrated under Pompeo's watch, unleashed a wave of outrage in Iran and a burning desire for revenge.

Deep in this intricate plot, Farahani has been recruiting individuals willing to carry out acts of “revenge” for Soleimani's death. It's unclear why the FBI issued the alert in Florida, but Farahani's ability to move between Iran and Venezuela, as well as his command of multiple languages, make him a subtle threat.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice reportedly convicted an Iranian operative of working with Mexican drug cartels to try to assassinate former Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, while he was dining at a Georgetown restaurant. In January, the Justice Department charged an Iranian gang leader with allegedly collaborating with members of the Hells Angels to kill Iranian dissidents living in Maryland.

News of this alleged conspiracy has unleashed unprecedented security measures.

Pompeo and Brian Hook, former President Donald Trump's former special envoy for Iran, have been placed under 24/7 protection in response to the latent threat.

This case is the newest possible stage in the spiral of retaliation that has emerged between the United States and Iran.

In 2022, a member of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was charged with plotting to assassinate former national security adviser John Bolton, allegedly as “retribution” for the assassination of Soleimani.

Shahram Poursafi, also known as Mehdi Rezayi, allegedly attempted to recruit people by offering them $300,000 to carry out Bolton's assassination in Washington D.C. or in Maryland, in a “bold plot” motivated by the death of the iconic Iranian commander.

The shadow of Soleimani, described in a 2021 Justice Department report as the terrorist with "the most American blood on his hands" since Osama Bin Laden, looms over relations between the two nations.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has called the airstrike that killed Soleimani and nine others "illegal and arbitrary" under international law for violating the United Nations Charter.

Amid accusations, plots and retaliation, the search for alleged Iranian spy Farahani has further heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.