Kazem Gharibabadi published a message on X channel and wrote that the claims and accusations of the US Department of Justice against Mohammed Reza Noori, an Iranian national imprisoned in Iraq, are without proof and valid documents and lack legal basis and justification; Mr. Noori's arrest is one of the examples of arbitrary arrest.

"We consider it our inherent duty to protect the rights of Iranian nationals around the world, and we will continue our diligent efforts to defend and support the rights of this Iranian national and return him to his homeland and to the arms of his family," he added.

He made the comments after the US Justice Department alleged that Noori had killed American citizen and English instructor Stephen Troll in Iraq’s capital Baghdad in 2022.  The department also said that Noori, who was arrested in 2023, was a member of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).