According to the police, the suspect is 21-year-old Nika Nikoubin. She met the man in question on a dating site called Plenty of Fish. The couple agreed to have a romantic date in a hotel room on 5 March.
While at the hotel, Nikoubin blindfolded the man with a bandage and turned off the lights. A few minutes later the man "felt a pain on the side of his neck", the police said, as quoted by KLAS-TV. The victim managed to push the woman away and ran out of the room to call the emergency services.
According to a police report, quoted by the media, Nikoubin attacked the man "for revenge against US troops for the killing of Qasem Soleimani in 2020". The woman herself came out of the room after the attempted murder and told hotel staff that she had injured the man.
Nikoubin told law enforcement that she had "wanted revenge". The woman additionally said that she had been inspired by a song called "Grave Digger".
In addition to attempted murder, the woman is also charged with causing physical injury with a deadly weapon and robbery.
Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force, was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad on 3 January 2020. The US claims that it took out Soleimani after receiving intelligence that he was planning attacks on US embassies in the region, but failed to present evidence for these claims.
Washington's actions sparked concerns that a full-scale war might erupt as a result, but Tehran's initial response was limited to missile strikes on bases in Iraq hosting American forces, which resulted in injuries among US servicemen, but no fatalities. Tehran imposed sanctions against a number of US citizens over their involvement in the assassination of the top general, and has vowed revenge for his killing.
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