Iranian Officers Indicted in Alinejad Assassination Plot

Federal prosecutors have charged Ruhollah Bazghandi, a high-ranking officer in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with three others, for plotting to assassinate Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad in New York. Bazghandi, who remains at large in Iran, is implicated in multiple assassination plots against Alinejad, a vocal critic of the Iranian regime known for her human rights activism. The indictment, unsealed in Brooklyn, reveals Bazghandi's involvement in orchestrating the plot, which included surveillance and attempts to carry out the assassination using hired operatives. Alinejad has faced numerous threats due to her outspoken criticism of Iran's government and has frequently relocated between safe houses. The U.S. Justice Department has previously charged several individuals in related plots to kidnap or harm Alinejad. This case underscores the Iranian regime's efforts to silence dissidents abroad, as highlighted by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray.