Two men have been charged with acting as illegal agents of the Iranian government for allegedly spying on a Jewish facility in Chicago and monitoring American members of an Iranian opposition group, the Justice Department announced Monday.
The men — dual U.S.-Iranian citizen Ahmadreza Mohammadi Doostdar and Iranian citizen and California resident Majid Ghorbani — were arrested earlier this month and charged with knowingly behaving as agents of Iran without notifying Attorney General Jeff Sessions, disregarding U.S. sanctions to provide services to Iran, and conspiracy.
The criminal complaints were unsealed Monday, after an indictment was returned.
“Doostdar and Ghorbani are alleged to have acted on behalf of Iran, including by conducting surveillance of political opponents and engaging in other activities that could put Americans at risk. With their arrest and these charges, we are seeking to hold the defendants accountable,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement.
The indictment claims Doostdar came to the U.S. around July 2017 seeking to obtain intelligence information about parties who Iran views as enemies, such as Israeli and Jewish interests and those affiliated with the Mujahedin-e Khalq.
The indictment says Doostdar allegedly monitored a Jewish facility in Chicago, the Rohr Chabad House, and took photographs of various security features protecting the building. Ghorbani allegedly photographed participants of an MEK protest in New York City in Sept. 2017.
The men connected in California around December 2017, where Doostdar paid Ghorbani an estimated $2,000 for photographs of the rally. Some of the photographs contained notes identifying the participants.
The indictment also claims Ghorbani went to Iran around March after notifying Doostdar he had plans for an “in-person briefing.”
“This alleged activity demonstrates a continued interest in targeting the United States, as well as potential opposition groups located in the United States,” Acting Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s National Security Branch Michael McGarrity said in a statement. “The FBI will continue to identify and disrupt those individuals who seek to engage in unlawful activity, on behalf of Iran, on US soil.”
Ghorbani is slated for a detention hearing later this month in the District of Columbia.
