A woman is accused of stabbing a man in the neck on March 5 at a hotel near Las Vegas. The 21-year-old woman said she committed the stabbing as revenge for the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, according to police.
Nika Nikoubin faces charges of attempted murder, two counts of battery with a deadly weapon, and burglary of a business, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She is being held on $60,000 bail.
Nikoubin allegedly met a man on the dating site Plenty of Fish, then lured him to the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino in Henderson, Nevada. While inside the hotel room, the couple began engaging in sexual activity. Nikoubin put a blindfold on the man, then turned the lights off. Several minutes later, the victim "felt a pain on the side of his neck," KLAS-TV reported. She reportedly pulled out a knife from her purse and attacked the unsuspecting victim.
The man pushed Nikoubin off of him and then ran out of the 14th-floor hotel room to call the police around 10:30 that night. Nikoubin also ran out of the room, and told a hotel employee that she had just stabbed a man, police said.
Nikoubin allegedly told authorities at the Henderson Police Department that she stabbed the man as revenge for the death of Qassem Soleimani – who was killed during a U.S. Air Force drone strike on Jan. 3, 2020. Soleimani was the leader of Iran's elite Quds Force.
"She advised that there are injustices, in particular the killing of Qasem Soleimani in Iran," homeland security detectives added to the Henderson arrest report. "Nikoubin stated she wanted revenge."
MEAWW reported Nikoubin is a "Las Vegas resident that previously worked as a front desk associate at Cycle Bar" based on her social media posts.
The Daily Mail reported that a Facebook post from UCLA's debate team in 2020 listed Nikoubin as a third-year student and said that 2020 was her first year as a JV coach.
Nikoubin is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 24.
Federal officials are investigating a chilling threat made on air traffic control radio waves two days ago, which promised revenge for the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top terrorism architect who was killed one year ago in an airstrike authorized by President Donald Trump.
Air traffic controllers working airspace over New York heard the threat on Monday, CBS News reported.
"We are flying a plane into the Capitol on Wednesday. Soleimani will be avenged," the unidentified person said on the aviation frequency.
The threat came on the one-year anniversary of Soleimani's death, whom Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge.
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The possibility of retaliation from Iran to mark the anniversary has been a major concern for the U.S. In the immediate aftermath of the killing, Iran launched an attack on a Baghdad airbase housing U.S. troops, killing none but injuring several.
This week, Iran called on the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a "red notice" for Trump's arrest in connection with Soleimani's killing. The international agency's general secretariat told NPR it is "strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character" and that it will not act on Iran's request.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the threat promised an attack Wednesday at the Capitol, the same time and location where chaos is unfolding over Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Fortunately, government officials do not believe the threat was credible, although senior national security officials were briefed about the threat, Fox News reported.
What is more concerning about the incident, officials said, was the fact that someone was able to breach the highly secured communication lines between pilots and air traffic controllers than ensure planes are able to operate safely.
The United States military suspects that an Iranian-linked attack on American personnel and interests in Iraq could be immanent as the one-year anniversary of Iranian terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani's death approaches.
On Jan. 2, 2020, the U.S. launched a drone strike on an envoy near the Baghdad airport that killed the renowned Iranian military leader along with Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Defense officials reportedly expressed their suspicions of a retaliatory attack on Wednesday as two B-52 bombers finished a round-trip, 30-hour mission from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to the Middle East. The mission was part of an effort to demonstrate American military might in the region and deter any action by Iran.
"The United States continues to deploy combat-ready capabilities into the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to deter any potential adversary, and make clear that we are ready and able to respond to any aggression directed at Americans or our interests," said Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, chief of U.S. Central Command, according to the Washington Post.
"We do not seek conflict, but no one should underestimate our ability to defend our forces or to act decisively in response to any attack," he added.
Another defense official speaking anonymously told the Post that "the threat streams are very real" and that a "fair amount of advanced conventional weaponry" has flowed over the border from Iran into Iraq in recent weeks.
Last week, McKenzie similarly indicated to ABC News that U.S. forces remained "in a period of heightened risk," but emphasized that the military is "not looking for war with Iran."
Those comments came as the U.S. Navy acknowledged that it sent a submarine into the Persian Gulf, "a move widely seen as sending a message to Iran," the outlet reported.
Soleimani's death was a major blow to the terror-sponsoring Iranian regime as he was the leader of the elite Quds Force, a special wing of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. For years, he had coordinated attacks on U.S. forces and assets in the Middle East.
Given how high profile a leader he was, a retaliatory attack near the anniversary of his death is certainly a possibility, especially as tensions rise in the region.
Last week, unknown attackers launched more than 20 rockets on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, killing at least one Iraqi civilian, though no Americans were hurt. Iran denied any involvement, but the Post reported that U.S. officials believe the attack was carried out by militias coordinating with the regime.
President Trump responded to the attack with a sober warning for Iran:
...Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over.— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1608760033.0
Yes, the president stumbled. He also lied. A lot.
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