Alleged Murder-for-Hire Plot Targets Iranian Defector in Maryland

The US Department of Justice has charged an Iranian national and two Canadians, including a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, for allegedly plotting to assassinate an Iranian defector living in Maryland. The indictment alleges that the Iranian national, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, orchestrated the murder-for-hire plot, and the US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against him, describing him as a drug trafficker who targets Iranian dissidents for assassination and kidnapping. The plot involved discussions of assembling a "team of gunmen" to carry out the murders, with financial details and communications outlined in the indictment. The three individuals involved each face charges related to conspiracy to use interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire.