Captain in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Charged with Murder and Terrorism Offenses

A complaint was unsealed today charging Mohammad Reza Nouri, 36, of Iran, also known as Muhammad Rida Husayn, Ali Asghar Nuri, and Abu Abbas, an Iranian national and officer in the IRGC, in connection with Nouri’s alleged role in orchestrating the Nov. 7, 2022, murder of American Stephen Troell in Baghdad, Iraq. Nouri was arrested in Iraq in March 2023.

“The Department of Justice will not tolerate terrorists and authoritarian regimes targeting and murdering Americans anywhere in the world,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We allege that Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of Stephen Troell, an American citizen living in Iraq, carrying out the Iranian Regime’s efforts to take vengeance for the death of Qasim Soleimani. Stephen should still be alive today, and the Justice Department will work relentlessly to ensure accountability for his murder.”

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains determined to target U.S. citizens, and orchestrated a cold-blooded plot to brutally murder Stephen Troell, a Tennessee native working at an English language institute in Iraq,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “According to the allegations, Mohammad Reza Nouri, an IRGC captain, played a key role in planning the attack in which Troell was ambushed as he drove home from work with his wife. Today’s announcement makes clear that the FBI and our partners will not tolerate the IRGC’s ruthless attacks on Americans, here in the United States or overseas, and will hold accountable any who seek to harm our citizens.”

Read more: Department of Justice