US Pursues Two Iranian and Palestinian Hackers
Federal authorities in the United States have pursued an Iranian and a Palestinian on charges of involvement in a cyber attack against a number of American websites following the killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to NBC News, based on documents released by the Federal District Court of Massachusetts on Tuesday, September 26, Behzad Mohammadzadeh, 19-year-old Iranian citizen, and Marwan Abusarour, 25-year-old Palestinian citizen, have been charged with conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers.
According to the report, arrest warrants for these two suspects, who live outside the United States, have been issued.
In the filed complaint, it was stated that Behzad Mohammadzadeh, shortly after the U.S. confirmed the killing of Qasem Soleimani, hacked approximately 51 websites in the United States and published images of Qasem Soleimani along with slogans such as “Death to America” and other content on them.
According to the complaint, Marwan Abusarour assisted Behzad Mohammadzadeh in hacking some of these websites.
NBC News states that, however, in this complaint, these two individuals have not been charged with cooperation with the Iranian government.
Associated Press also reports that prosecutors have said Behzad Mohammadzadeh has publicly claimed that since 2018 he has posted messages supporting Iran and hackers on more than 1,100 websites worldwide.
The report adds that Marwan Abusarour has also claimed to have hacked 337 websites.
John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, also said in a statement that the unlawful and illegal actions of these two individuals in support of a rogue and destabilizing government have led to their pursuit and evasion of justice.
The news of the pursuit of these two has been released while American news outlet Politico claimed in an exclusive report on Monday that U.S. government officials, citing intelligence reports, said the Islamic Republic of Iran, in response to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, is planning to assassinate the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa.
Donald Trump, President of the United States, also responded to Politico’s report on Monday and warned Iran that any action against the interests of the United States would be met with a response “a thousand times more severe.”
Following the killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, commander of Kata’ib Hezbollah, in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad Airport, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps conducted missile attacks on Iraqi bases hosting American forces.
Source: Radio Farda
