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40m ago

Two Men Get 25 Years for Iran-Linked Plot to Kill Masih Alinejad in New York

Prosecutors say Iranian operatives used mob intermediaries to target the dissident, a scheme disrupted by police.

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Prominent New York-based dissident and journalist Masih Alinejad holds a sunflower behind Polad Omarov and Radar Amirov, who were convicted of involvement in an unsuccessful Iran-backed plot to kill her, as they attend their sentencing at federal court in New York, U.S., October 29, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
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Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan sentenced Rafat Amirov, 46, and Polad Omarov, 41, after their March convictions on murder-for-hire and related racketeering counts.
  • Prosecutors said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard offered $500,000 and provided targeting data, and the defendants delivered $30,000 to hired gunman Khalid Mehdiyev.
  • Mehdiyev surveilled Alinejad’s Brooklyn home in July 2022 and was arrested after a traffic stop with an AK-47, 66 rounds of ammunition, a ski mask, gloves, and cash in his vehicle.
  • The government sought 55-year terms while the defense asked for 10 to 13 years, and the judge condemned the crime and its impact as she imposed 25 years.
  • Mehdiyev has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing, and several Iranian officials charged in 2024 remain outside U.S. custody as Tehran rejects the allegations.