FBI launches urgent manhunt for Iranian secret agent, 42, accused of plotting to assassinate Trump-era officials including Mike Pompeo in revenge for killing of Qasem Soleimani

The FBI has launched an urgent manhunt for an Iranian secret intelligence official accused of plotting to assassinate Trump-era officials.

Federal agents say Majid Dastjani Farahani has been trying to recruit allies to murder current and former US government officials as revenge for the US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

In an urgent notice on Friday, the FBI office in Miami asked for information on Farahani, who is said to speak Spanish and frequently move between Iran and Venezuela, where the ruling regime is friendly with Iran. 

'Farahani 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 Qasem Soleimani,' the FBI said.

'Farahani also reportedly recruited individuals for surveillance activities focused on religious sites, businesses, and other facilities in the United States. Farahani acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security.'

Federal agents say Majid Dastjani Farahani has been trying to recruit allies in the country to murder current and former US government officials

'Farahani also reportedly recruited individuals for surveillance activities focused on religious sites, businesses, and other facilities in the United States,' the FBI said

Iran vowed to take revenge on the US following the assassination of Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, the overseas arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards

The FBI has asked anyone with information to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or consulate. 

Iran vowed to take revenge on the US following the assassination of Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, the overseas arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards.

Soleimani was killed in Iraq in a drone strike in January, 2020, ordered by then-president Donald Trump.

Aside from Pompeo, the FBI also believes Iran is also targeting Brian Hook, Trump's envoy to Tehran, the agency told Semafor.

Both Pompeo and Hook are currently under around-the-clock security due to the increased threat level. 

Farahani was sanctioned by the Treasury department in December, which claimed he works for Iran to 'aggressively target and stifle opponents and dissenting voices.'

'The regime's efforts to silence its opponents extend far beyond its borders, where Iran has carried out acts of transnational repression, including rendition and lethal plotting against activists, journalists, and foreign government officials,' the Treasury department said. 

It's not the first time Tehran plots to assassinate former US government officials.

In 2022, the Department of Justice indicted several members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard for plotting to kill Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton.

Meanwhile the links between Iran and Venezuela have increasingly become more evident, as Iran uses the South American nation as a friendly base in the western hemisphere.

The Trump officials allegedly targeted by the Iranian agent included former secretary of state Mike Pompeo

In 2021, two men were arrested in New York City after they targeted Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad in a failed kidnap attempt

In 2021, two men were arrested in New York City after they targeted Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad in a failed kidnap attempt.

The FBI said the two Iranian agents planned to lure Alinejad, an American citizen, from her home in Brooklyn to Venezuela, where they would capture her and send her back to Iran.

The Iranians had a live feed of her home and researched how to get the author out of New York, according to the charging documents. One of the four researched a service offering 'military-style speedboats for self-operated maritime evacuation out of New York City, and maritime travel from New York to Venezuela, a country whose de facto government has friendly relations with Iran,' the Justice Department said.

The conspirators, who remain at large, had also plotted to lure a person in the UK and three others in Canada to Iran, an indictment said. They had all also been critical of Iran.