Iranian Government Accused of Hiring Hitmen to Kill U.S.-Based Journalist

Federal trial reveals alleged $500,000 assassination plot targeting dissident Masih Alinejad, orchestrated by Iranian agents and Eastern European criminals.

• Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and activist, was allegedly targeted for assassination by operatives hired by the Iranian government.
• Federal prosecutors claim Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps worked with Eastern European organized crime figures to carry out the $500,000 plot.
• The scheme involved a seven-day surveillance operation near Alinejad's Brooklyn home in 2022, with the hitman arrested carrying an AK-47 and ammunition.
• The trial marks the first time Iranian agents are being prosecuted in the U.S. for such an alleged plot, with two defendants pleading not guilty to charges of murder-for-hire and racketeering.
• Prosecutors argue the plot reflects a broader pattern of Iran's efforts to silence dissidents abroad, citing at least 33 similar cases in Western countries since 2020.

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The Times