WASHINGTON: One of two men arrested in Washington for posing as US federal security officials and cultivating access to the Secret Service, which protects President Joe Biden, claimed ties to Pakistani intelligence, a federal prosecutor told a judge Thursday, and had Ali had travelled to Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and Qatar, and transited Doha multiple times.
Justice Department assistant attorney Joshua Rothstein asked a judge not to release Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, the men arrested Wednesday for posing as Department of Homeland Security investigators.
The men also stand accused of providing lucrative favors to members of the Secret Service, including one agent on the security detail of First Lady Jill Biden.
Rothstein told the court that in 2019, just months before the two began cultivating security professionals in their Washington apartment building, Ali had travelled to Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and Qatar, and transited Doha multiple times.
In addition, Rothstein said, Ali "made claims to witnesses that he had connections to the ISI, which is the Pakistani intelligence service."
Pakistan has not responded to the case yet.
The Justice Department is treating the case as a criminal matter and not a national security issue. But the Secret Service suspended four agents over their involvement with the suspects.
"All personnel involved in this matter are on administrative leave and are restricted from accessing Secret Service facilities, equipment, and systems," the Secret Service said in a statement.
According to an affidavit filed with the court, Taherzadeh and Ali, both US citizens, lived in an apartment building in Washington where numerous federal security-related employees live.
They convinced some of those agents that they themselves were special Homeland Security investigators, displaying uniforms and documents in support of those claims.
Both were initially charged with one count of false impersonation of an officer of the United States, which could bring up to three years in prison.
But Rothstein told the court that the charge could be expanded to conspiracy, which carries a maximum of five years in prison.
The motives of the two men were unclear, but at one point they recruited a third person to work for them, assigning him "to conduct research on an individual that provided support to the Department of Defense and intelligence community."
Taherzadeh meanwhile provided several Secret Service and Homeland Security employees with rent-free units costing as much as $4,000 a month, according to the affidavit.
He also gave them iPhones, surveillance systems, a television, and law enforcement paraphernalia, according to the affidavit.
Taherzadeh offered a $2,000 assault rifle to the Secret Service agent who worked on the first lady's team, and did favors for the agent's wife, including lending her his car.
The affidavit said Taherzadeh and Ali appeared to control several units in the apartment complex, and that Taherzadeh had access to the building's entire security system.
Like many in law enforcement, the two drove large black GMC SUVs with emergency lights.
Taherzadeh carried handguns that are used by US federal law enforcement, and demonstrated to others that he had secure access to what appeared to be Homeland Security computer systems.
In the defendants' first court appearance, the prosecutor sought to prevent them from being granted bail. But neither had secured full legal representation and the judge put the decision off for a second hearing on Friday.
'Fake' US agent claimed ties to Pakistan intelligence, travelled to Turkey, Iran — prosecutor
https://arab.news/wk2ga
'Fake' US agent claimed ties to Pakistan intelligence, travelled to Turkey, Iran — prosecutor
- Arian Taherzadeh and Haider Ali were arrested Wednesday for posing as Homeland Security investigators
- The Justice Department is treating the case as a criminal matter and not a national security issue
Pakistan making diplomatic efforts to de-escalate Middle East tensions, FM says
- The statement came as Iran pressed on with a third day of strikes in the Gulf in response to US-Israeli air raids
- Pakistan’s position is clear that all countries must abide by principles of UN Charter, international law, FM says
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is making diplomatic efforts to de-escalate heightened tensions in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday, amid US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counterstrikes against US bases in Gulf countries.
Tensions escalated across the Middle East on Saturday after coordinated US-Israel strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei among other senior Iranian officials. Tehran responded by targeting US military bases in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan. Saudi Arabia said Iran also launched attacks targeting Riyadh and the Eastern Province.
The Iranian missile and drone strikes continued on Monday in retaliation for the ongoing US-Israeli air raids, casting uncertainty over the future of the Islamic republic and heightening the risk of broader instability in the already volatile region.
Speaking at a press conference, FM Dar, who recently returned from Saudi Arabia where he attended an Organization of Islamic Cooperation OIC) meeting on Palestine, said Pakistan is very closely monitoring the evolving situation in Iran and the tensions which are building up in the region.
“These serious developments have taken place at a time when diplomatic efforts were underway to reach a peaceful and negotiated solution to [Iran nuclear program],” he said.
“We are making our full diplomatic efforts and, you know, requesting all parties to de-escalate and to refrain.”
Dar said Islamabad was concerned over a violation of the norms and international law, and the age-old tradition that the heads of state and the government should not be targeted.
“Post-World War II, we all know that these institutions were created to create some international, you know, law and order, and that’s why there was a UN Charter. There are certain conventions which we all are supposed to follow,” he said.
“But things are on ground moving very differently, which obviously is worrisome... The international law must prevail and the conventions must be respected.”
The statement came hours after the Ras Tanura oil refinery in Saudi Arabia sustained limited damage as a result of debris from the interception of two drones in its vicinity, the Saudi Press Agency reported, citing an official source at the Saudi Ministry of Energy.
Several American warplanes crashed in Kuwait on Monday morning but their crew survived, Kuwait’s defense ministry said, as Iran pressed on with a third day of strikes in the Gulf.
Dar said Pakistan’s position has been clear and persistent that all countries must abide by the principles of UN Charter and international law, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states as well as international humanitarian law.
“In my latest conversation with [Iranian] Foreign Minister Abbas Araqshi on 28th of February, I conveyed Pakistan’s condemnation of the attacks and called for restraint and diplomacy and dialogue, which he positively responded,” he shared.
“But on ground, we are seeing that things are not yet settling or easing out.”
Pakistan stands in full solidarity with all its brotherly countries and underscores the need to exercise maximum restraint, according to FM Dar.
“This is a message we have been giving to whosoever prime minister speaks, whosoever I speak, or whosoever Field Marshal Asim Munir speaks to, his counterparts on the defense side,” he said.
