US, UK Sanction Iranian Network Over Assassination Plots

Network led by Iranian trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti accused of numerous assassinations and kidnappings; two Canadians allegedly recruited for murder plot.

The US and UK have jointly imposed sanctions on a network accused of plotting to assassinate Iranian dissidents in their respective countries. The network is allegedly operated by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security and headed by Iranian narcotics trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti.
Zindashti and his network are accused of numerous assassinations and kidnappings in the US, UK, and other countries. The US has sanctioned 11 members of the network and brought charges against Zindashti and others for planning to murder two Maryland dissidents.
Zindashti allegedly recruited two Canadians, Damion Patrick John Ryan, a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, and Adam Richard Pearson, to carry out the assassinations. The agreed sum for the murders was $350,000 plus $20,000 for expenses.
Zindashti and his network are also blamed for the 2020 kidnapping of Swedish-Iranian Habib Chaab, who was smuggled from Turkey back to Iran where he was executed following a questionable trial, and the assassinations of former Iranian cybersecurity official-turned regime critic Mas'ud Vardanjani in Turkey in 2019 and British-Iranian dissident Saeed Karimian in 2017.
The sanctions come amid escalating tensions between the allies and Iran, as Tehran, through its proxies, has been deepening its involvement in Israel's war against the Iran-backed Hamas. The US and UK have blamed Iran for a recent drone strike on US service members in Jordan, which killed three and injured at least 34 others.