Iranian Plot to Silence Journalist Unveiled

The United States has charged an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps official and others over a plot to kidnap and assassinate Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad. The indictment reveals the Iranian regime's efforts to silence her for criticizing them, with suspects in custody and others still at large.

The United States has issued new charges in connection with a plot to kidnap and kill an Iranian-American journalist in New York, implicating an official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), according to Tuesday's court documents.

Among those previously charged were suspects apprehended in 2022 and January 2023. While the latest documents did not disclose the intended victim's identity, it follows the arrest of a man outside the Brooklyn home of journalist Masih Alinejad. FBI Director Christopher Wray said, "Today's indictment exposes the full extent of Iran's plot to silence an American journalist for criticizing the Iranian regime."

The IRGC official, Ruhollah Bazghandi, identified as a former counterintelligence chief, was also sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. His and others' internet activities pointed to several assassination attempts. The newly charged individuals, still at large in Iran, are linked to Khalid Mehdiyev and Rafat Amirov, held in the U.S. for allegedly plotting to lure Alinejad from her home and kill her.

(With inputs from agencies.)