Human rights attorneys are urging President Trump to take decisive action to prevent Iranian operatives from targeting dissidents on U.S. soil. The request follows the kidnapping and execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a legal California resident whose body was returned to his family in a mutilated state. The lawyers argue that past leniency in the U.S. justice system and weak federal policies have encouraged Iranian aggression. They have filed a symbolic lawsuit and sent a formal letter to the White House demanding better protection for legal residents. President Trump has responded by canceling meetings with Iranian officials and expressing support for Iranian protesters.
Human rights attorneys are calling on President Trump to take strong action against the Iranian government. These lawyers represent the family of Jamshid Sharmahd. He was a legal resident of California and a citizen of Iran. He was also known as a freedom advocate. In 2020, Iranian forces kidnapped him while he was traveling abroad. They took him back to Iran. He was put through a trial for spying and was executed in 2024. His family and their lawyers say the trial was not fair and that he was tortured while in custody.
The official rationale for this request is to send a clear message to foreign adversaries. The attorneys stated that foreign operatives are not welcome in the United States. They want to show that anyone who targets people in America will face consequences instead of leniency. The goal is to stop hostile nations from thinking they can ignore U.S. laws or hurt people living here without being held accountable.
The details of the Sharmahd case are very serious. It took more than a year for the Iranian government to return his body to his family in America. When the body arrived, the family found that his tongue and heart had been removed. This act was described as a display of brutality by the Iranian regime. The family has now filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Columbia. This legal action is a formal protest against the kidnapping, torture, and killing of their husband and father.
Lawyers Dylan Barket and Jason Poblete are leading the legal team. They wrote a letter to President Trump in early January. They asked for concrete steps to protect other people who have spoken out against the Iranian government. The lawyers noted that the media often talks about threats against the President or his staff. However, they said there is not enough focus on plots against regular citizens and legal residents. They believe these people are also in danger from foreign agents.
The attorneys pointed to a specific case from 2009 to show why they are worried. A man named Mohammad Reza Sadeghnia was arrested near the Los Angeles International Airport. He had tried to hire a hitman to murder Sharmahd. He offered to pay 32,000 dollars for the killing. Sadeghnia pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles court. He was given a one-year jail sentence. The attorneys called this a lenient approach to a very serious crime.
After his short sentence, the court allowed Sadeghnia to travel back to Iran. He said he needed to visit a sick parent. He never came back to the United States to face further oversight. Later, government records showed that he had ties to Iranian intelligence. He had been involved in watching and planning attacks on people who criticized the Iranian regime in the United States and the United Kingdom. The lawyers argued that letting him leave was a mistake that left other people vulnerable.
The legal team also criticized past federal administrations. They said the Obama and Biden administrations did not do enough to stop Iran’s aggressive behavior. They mentioned that Iran has broken promises on nuclear deals and has targeted people on U.S. soil for years. The lawyers believe that these past failures signaled weakness. They said this weakness invited Iran to continue its cyberattacks and its work to enrich uranium against international rules.
The policy impact of these events includes a formal lawsuit filed against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Sharmahd family is seeking a judgment for the extrajudicial killing and mutilation. There is also a demand for the White House to change how it handles foreign threats against residents. The ingestion material does not list specific costs, fees, or new paperwork requirements for the public. However, President Trump has already taken the step of canceling all meetings with Iranian officials. These meetings will remain canceled until the killing of protesters in Iran stops.
President Trump has also used social media to speak to the people of Iran. He told them to keep protesting and to take over their institutions. He warned that those who kill and abuse people will pay a big price. He ended one message with the phrase MIGA. On Wednesday, the President told reporters that he had been notified that the killing of protesters in Iran is stopping. He said he heard this on good authority but would wait to see if it is true.
The attorneys continue to push for a plan that ensures foreign operatives cannot evade justice. They want to make sure that no other family has to go through what the Sharmahd family experienced. The legal team is looking for a response from the White House regarding their specific demands for safety. Future oversight will focus on whether the Iranian government follows through on its promise to stop the violence against its own people and those living abroad.

