Iranian soccer official coming to Canada attended party with man sought by FBI over kidnap plot

The head of the Iranian national soccer team coming to Vancouver next month for a controversial exhibition game recently attended a party with a man wanted by the FBI in relation to a plot to kidnap international targets, including three people in Canada. 

The April 8 birthday party in Tehran was captured on camera and photographs were posted online. At the time, a warrant had been out for the arrest of the alleged Iranian intelligence informant for almost a year.

Team manager Hamid Estili appears in the photos with Mahmoud Khazein. Khazein is facing criminal charges in the U.S. which include conspiracy to kidnap, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

One of the alleged targets of the kidnapping plot, Masih Alinejad, told CBC News the FBI is now looking into the possible connection between Estili and Khazein after she posted about it on social media.

"The FBI told me they are going to look into this case," said Alinejad, a prominent Iranian-American author and activist who is an outspoken foe of Iran's regime.

"I want the Canadian police to consider that as well … Sports federations are being controlled by members of the Revolutionary Guards. Would you allow anyone associated with the kidnappers to come to Canada to enjoy freedom?"

The FBI and RCMP would not comment, saying their usual practice is to not confirm or deny investigations unless charges have been laid.

Many sports clubs in Iran have been taken over, directly or indirectly, by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) due to their rising popularity and profitability, according to experts and several media reports. 

Iran's soccer team is headed to Vancouver for an exhibition game on June 5. The game is going