US prosecutes two Iranian and Palestinian hackers
US federal authorities have charged an Iranian and a Palestinian with involvement in a cyberattack on a number of American websites following the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force.
According to NBC News, according to documents released by the Massachusetts federal court on Tuesday, September 16, Behzad Mohammadzadeh, a 19-year-old Iranian citizen, and Marwan Abu Sarwar, a 25-year-old Palestinian citizen, have been charged with conspiracy to intentionally destroy protected computers.
According to the report, an arrest warrant has been issued for the two defendants, who live outside the United States.
The lawsuit states that shortly after the US confirmed the killing of Qassem Soleimani, Behzad Mohammadzadeh hacked around 51 websites in the US and posted images of Qassem Soleimani along with slogans such as "Death to America" and other content.
According to the lawsuit, Marwan Abu Sarwar helped Behzad Mohammadzadeh hack some of these websites.
NBC News says, however, that the lawsuit does not accuse the two of collaborating with the Iranian government.
The Associated Press also says that prosecutors have said that Behzad Mohammadzadeh has publicly claimed that since 2018, he has posted messages in support of Iran and hackers on more than 1,100 websites around the world.
The report adds that Marwan Abu Sarwar also claimed to have hacked 337 websites.
John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, also said in a statement that the two individuals' unlawful and illegal actions in support of a rogue and destabilizing government have led to their prosecution and their escape from justice.
The news of the two being pursued came as the American publication Politico claimed in an exclusive report on Monday that US government officials, citing intelligence reports, said that the Islamic Republic of Iran was planning to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa in response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani.
US President Donald Trump also responded to the Politico report on Monday, warning Iran that any action against US interests would be met with a response "a thousand times more severe."
After the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, commander of the Kataib Hezbollah group, in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport, the IRGC launched missile attacks on Iraqi bases hosting Americans.
Source: Radio Farda
