May 26, 2018
An Iranian-born naturalized American has been arrested inside the Iranian diplomatic mission in Washington, DC, where he cursed in Farsi, damaged equipment and pistol-whipped the Iranian-American receptionist.
The US Secret Service confirmed that an individual with a Daisy BB gun was arrested at 1250 23rd Street NW.
DC Police later identified the man as 55-year-old Alireza Fakhar, of San Antonio, Texas, who currently has an address in Fairfax, Virginia.
Iran has no embassy in the United States. It has an “Interests Section” housed at that address as part of the Embassy of Pakistan to handle Iran’s consular business in the United States.
A witness inside the Interests Section said the man walked into the building about 11 a.m. April 25 with a knife and a handgun. He then attacked a man at the front desk, pistol-whipping him before forcing him upstairs and locking him in an office while waving his gun at other employees and shouting in Farsi.
The Mehr news agency said he shouted slogans against the Islamic Republic.
A Secret Service agent said other employees of the Interests Section locked themselves in a bathroom.
The attacker smashed windows, two TVs, several trophy display cases and a computer monitor. The Secret Service estimated the damage at more than $9,000.
When Secret Service officers arrived, the suspect laid down on the floor in a submissive position to allow the arrest.
The man who was attacked was taken to a hospital with head injuries.
The Secret Service was summoned by a report that gunshots had been fired at the site. But they said no shots were fired by the man or police.
Fakhar appeared in court the next day where prosecutors charged him with assault with a dangerous weapon, kidnaping (for locking up the man he beat) and damaging property owned by a foreign government.
The Secret Service said Fakhar told them after his arrest that he had gone to the Interests Section to scare the staff and seek “revenge” for the Iranian government’s treatment of its people.
If convicted, Fakhar could theoretically spend life in prison, as that is the maximum penalty for kidnaping.
The Interests Section is staffed by four Iranians sent to Washington by Iran’s Foreign Ministry and dozens of Iranian-Americans. The man Fakhar beat with his pistol was not identified, but the receptionist’s desk is believed normally staffed by an Iranian-American.
The Secret Service was created as the first federal police agency during the Civil War to pursue counterfeiters. Decades later it was given the job of protecting the president. More recently, it has been given a new branch to protect diplomatic properties. There has never been anything “secret” about it.
