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WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice on Friday charged an Iranian man in a murder-for-hire plot to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump and two others in a plot to kill an American journalist critical of Tehran. The three who were charged are Farhad Shakeri of Iran; Carlisle Rivera of Brooklyn, New York; and Jonathan Loadholt, of Staten Island, New York. Around Oct. 7, the Iranian official tasked Shakeri with providing a plan within seven days to kill Trump, he told law enforcement in recorded interviews, the complaint says. Shakeri told FBI officials that he didn’t intend to propose a plan to assassinate Trump in the timeframe set by the IRGC, it says. Trump was also briefed by U.S. intelligence officials after the attempt in September about threats from Iran to kill him.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Donald Trump, Trump, ” Damian Williams, Qasem Soleimani, Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt, Shakeri, surveil, Steven Cheung, ”, Rivera, Masih Alinejad, Alinejad, Loadholt, realDonaldTrump, Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, —, Biden Organizations: The Department, Justice, Southern, of, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, U.S, Trump, FBI, White, Prosecutors, NBC News, Fairfield University, Service, Emergency Economic Locations: American, Tehran, U.S, of New York, Iran, Brooklyn , New York, Staten Island , New York, New York City, Sri Lanka, United States, Afghan, New York State, Brooklyn, Loadholt, Staten Island, Republic, America, Florida, New York

☆ Justice Department brings charges in thwarted Iranian plot to assassinate Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Rebecca Shabad | Michael Kosnar | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Department of Justice on Friday charged an Iranian man and two New York residents in murder-for-hire plots targeting then-candidate Donald Trump and others. The department said the plot was part of Iran's efforts to exact revenge for the death of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani during the Trump administration. Around Oct. 7, the Iranian official tasked Shakeri with providing a plan within seven days to kill Trump, he told law enforcement in recorded interviews, the complaint says. Shakeri told FBI officials that he didn't intend to propose a plan to assassinate Trump in the timeframe set by the IRGC, it says. Trump communications director Steven Cheung said Friday that the president-elect is aware of the attempted assassination plot.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Damian Williams, Qasem Soleimani, Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt, Shakeri, surveil, Steven Cheung, Rivera, Masih Alinejad Organizations: U.S, The, Justice, Southern, of, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, Trump, FBI, White, Prosecutors, NBC News Locations: Iranian, Tehran, Iran, New York, U.S, of New York, Brooklyn , New York, Staten Island , New York, New York City, Sri Lanka, United States, Afghan, New York State, Brooklyn, Loadholt, Staten Island, American

☆ DOJ announces charges in Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Justice Department on Friday announced federal charges in a thwarted Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump before the presidential election. According to court documents, Iranian officials asked Farhad Shakeri, 51, in September to focus on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump. But IRGC officials told Shakeri on October 7 to focus only on Trump, court documents say, and that he had seven days to formulate an assassination plan. Shakeri would pay these criminal associates, like his two co-conspirators, to monitor the victims Iranian officials sought to assassinate, according to court documents. Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that all three men were specifically charged in the plot against Donald Trump.

Persons: Donald Trump, Farhad Shakeri, Trump, Shakeri –, –, Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, Jonathan Loadholt, General Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, ” Garland, “, Qasem, ”, Masih Alinejad, Alinejad, Rivera, Loadholt Organizations: CNN, The Justice Department, Justice Department, Prosecutors, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump, Justice, FBI Locations: Iran, Afghan, Tehran, New York, United States, US, New, American, Sri Lanka, New York City

☆ Federal prosecutors charge Iranian Revolutionary Guards official in assassination plot on US soil
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-22 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The charges made public Tuesday against the official, Ruhollah Bazghandi, are the first to accuse an Iranian government official by name in the alleged plot to kill journalist Masih Alinejad. Prosecutors allege they were enlisted to carry out the assassination of Alinejad in the United States. Bazghandi allegedly discussed the plot to murder Alinejad with a second defendant, Haj Taher. Taher, in turn, communicated about the plot defendants Hossein Sedighi and Mohammad Forouzan, prosecutors say, including about payment for the murder. Taher, Sedighi and Forouzan also have connections to the Iranian government, prosecutors allege.

Persons: Ruhollah Bazghandi, Masih Alinejad, Bazghandi, Alinejad, General Merrick Garland, ” Alinejad, Ali Khamenei’s IRGC, “, ”, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Christopher Wray, ” Wray, General ”, Qasem Soleimani, Javad, Haj Taher, Taher, Hossein Sedighi, Mohammad Forouzan, Sedighi, Forouzan, Rafat Amirov, Amirov, Polad, Zailat, CNN’s Kara Scannell Organizations: CNN, Federal, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Eastern, ”, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Treasury Department, Qods Force, Amirov Locations: New York, Iran, United States, Iran’s, American, Iranian, New York City, IRGC, Syria, ”, France

“Any assessment that Iran is assigning lethal operations to a ‘B team’ misses the utility of nonofficial actors," said Roule, currently affiliated with United Against Nuclear Iran. Officials say they see no connection between that plot and the shooting of Trump in Pennsylvania by a local resident who had researched mass shootings and political assassinations. In 2021, the Justice Department charged four alleged Iranian intelligence operatives with trying to kidnap Masih Alinejad. “We have said many times that we have been tracking Iranian threats against former politicians,” she said this week. Neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris has commented on the alleged Iranian assassination plots.

Persons: ”, Kenneth Katzman, don’t, “, ” Katzman, “ There’s, they’ve, Norm Roule, ’, Roule, aren't, Asif Merchant of, Donald Trump, John Bolton, Qassem Soleimani, New York —, Masih Alinejad, Alinejad, General Merrick Garland, we’ve, Steven M, Bolton, Biden, it’s, It’s, —, Jake Sullivan, Sean Savett, … The, Harris, White, Karine Jean, Pierre, “ We’ve, Qassem, …, Biden’s, John Kirby, ” Adrienne Watson, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Trump, Mike Turner Organizations: FBI, Soufan Center, Congressional Research Service, CIA, United Against Nuclear, Iran’s Revolutionary, Quds Force, Administration, D.C, Justice Department, Eastern, NBC News, Roule, Bolton, National Security Council, … The Biden, NBC, ., White, Indian, ” Locations: Iran, United States, U.S, U.S . Iran, United Against Nuclear Iran, Asif Merchant of Pakistan, Texas, Trump, Pennsylvania, Saudi, Washington, New York, Brooklyn , New York, Bolton, Tehran, Europe, Canada

But in remarks on social media, she described the U.S. Embassy as a place she “HAD to visit.” Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard now runs it as a museum. Photos You Should See View All 45 Images“I'm sharing exhibits from a museum that are never seen," Wright wrote on Instagram. Masih Alinejad, a U.S.-based activist who has faced assassination and kidnapping attempts by Iran, also denounced Wright's visit. But there's been no media coverage of Wright's visit inside Iran, likely a sign of how tightly controlled journalists are after the 2022 demonstrations. Iranian state media have seized on the U.S. support of Israel to criticize the U.S. and opponents of its theocracy.

Persons: Whitney Wright, Narges Mohammadi, Mahsa Amini, Wright, “, ”, Ruhollah Khomeini, Nasser Kanaani, Setareh Pesiani, Iran's, Pesiani, Instagram, Masih Alinejad, Wright's, Rosa Parks, Alinejad, Candy, there's, Abdolreza, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mia Khalifa Organizations: JERUSALEM, U.S, Embassy, Associated Press, Revolutionary Guard, United Nations, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Israel, Islamic, U.S . State Department, AP, Washington, State Department Locations: Iran, Tehran, U.S, Oklahoma City, Islamic Republic, British, Gaza, Israel, Islamic Republic of Iran, East

☆ These Iranian activists fled for freedom. But the regime still managed to find them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Salma Abdelaziz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Whatever actions you take against the Islamic Republic, there in France, is a crime,” the man is heard saying. They have done nothing wrong.”Massi Kamari, an Iranian activist living in Paris, says Iranian intelligence threatened to send her family to Tehran's Evin prison if she continued her activism against the regime abroad. I mean these criminals were hired by the Islamic Republic. So, you see the Islamic Republic itself is a criminal organization. “But even the week after I received the call (from Iranian intelligence officials), I was out doing my political work.

☆ Iran's Khamenei calls girls' poisoning 'unforgivable' after public anger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Over 1,000 girls have suffered poisoning since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians blaming religious groups opposed to girls' education. The poisonings have come at a critical time for Iran's clerical rulers after months of protests since the death of a young woman held by police for flouting hijab rules. "Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by state TV. "If it is proven deliberate, those perpetrators of this unforgivable crime should be sentenced to capital punishment." At least one boys' school has also been targeted in the city of Boroujerd, state media reported.

☆ Time to ramp up support for Iranian people, former Shah's son says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Eight Iranian exiled dissidents, including Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the toppled Shah, discussed ways of uniting a fragmented opposition earlier this month, amid pro-government events marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution inside the country. "We are to looking at means on how we can support the movement back home," Pahlavi said. "There is a lot of discussion on maximum pressure and more sanctions, but parallel to maximum pressure there needs to be maximum support." It remains unclear how much support Pahlavi has on the ground, but there have been some pro- and anti-slogans in demonstrations. Many Iranians remember the Shah’s secret police, Savak, and Pahlavi said he condemned what had happened then.

☆ 3 men arrested after attempting to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist and activist who is critical of the country's human rights abuses, feds say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Three men were indicted on charges of money laundering and murder-for-hire, the DOJ said. The target, Masih Alinejad, told The Associated Press the FBI read her the messages the men exchanged. The indictment did not say if the Iranian regime was directly involved in the murder order. Alinejad told The Associated Press that the FBI read her the messages the men exchanged,"I'm not scared," Alinejad told the AP. While the man behind the plot is in Iran, the DOJ indictment did not say whether the Iranian government was behind the plot.

☆ Three Men Charged With Plotting to Kill Iranian Dissident in Brooklyn
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Masih Alinejad, an Iranian dissident and human-rights activist said she refused to live in fear and would continue to speak out against Iran’s government. WASHINGTON—Three alleged members of an Eastern European crime syndicate have been charged with what officials described as an Iran-backed plot to kill a journalist living in Brooklyn, the Justice Department said, citing the case as the latest example of the Islamic Republic’s efforts to silence its critics. Masih Alinejad , an Iranian dissident and human-rights activist, has long been the target of Iran after she criticized the government’s human-rights abuses, discrimination against women and use of imprisonment and torture against political opponents.

☆ DOJ charges 3 men in murder-for-hire plot against journalist critical of Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Soon after the charges were announced, Masih Alinejad revealed that she was the target of the assassination plot. “Fortunately, their plot failed because we didn’t,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a press conference announcing the indictment. Amirov, a citizen of Azerbaijan and Russia who was living in Iran during the plot, was taken into custody in New York on Thursday. Omarov then directed Mehdiyev to carry out the plot against Alinejad and Amirov and Omarov arranged to pay Mehdiyev $30,000 in cash. Before he could carry out the plot, however, Mehdiyev was arrested near Alinejad's home in July with the assault rifle in his possession.

☆ Three arrested in murder-for-hire plot targeting U.S. journalist who criticized Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Three men have been arrested for a murder-for-hire plot that targeted a U.S. journalist and human rights activist of Iranian origin who has been a prominent critic of Iran, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday. The same victim, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, had been the target of an earlier kidnapping plot, which led the Department of Justice in 2021 to obtain an indictment against four people who had ties with Iranian intelligence. Masih Alinejad, an exiled Iranian journalist, identified herself in 2021 as the target of that kidnapping plot. The latest plot began in 2022, when members of an Eastern European criminal organization with ties to Iran were enlisted to assassinate the unidentified victim, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, an indictment alleges. That group's participation in the plot was directed by a man named Rafat Amirov, the group's leader, who lives in Iran and "who was tasked with targeting the Victim by individuals in Iran," the indictment charges.

The assailants had been monitoring the property and may have observed that she often shares flowers with her neighbors, she said. Omarov then sent those details to Mehdiyev, who lived in Yonkers, New York, prosecutors said. Amirov and Omarov then arranged for Mehdiyev to get $30,000 in cash, which he used to buy an assault rifle and ammunition, prosecutors said. Omarov, 38, was arrested in the Czech Republic earlier this month, and the United States is seeking his extradition. Iran accuses Western powers of fomenting the unrest, which security forces have met with deadly violence.

☆ California woman admits to unwittingly funding foiled plot to kidnap Iran critic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK — A California woman pleaded guilty on Thursday in connection with her unwitting role in a foiled plot to kidnap a prominent Iranian opposition activist living in New York City and take her back to Tehran. But authorities said four Iranians who plotted to kidnap the activist and paid an American private investigator to watch her used Bahadorifar as a go-between. Bahadorifar pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate U.S. economic sanctions on Iran by helping channel money to the investigator. Her lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told The New York Times that Bahadorifar was herself a victim of a “cancerous” Iranian regime. An Iranian intelligence officer and others were charged in New York last year with attempting to kidnap Alinejad and take her back to Iran.

☆ Iran ousted from U.N. women's group after U.S. campaign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Iran was ousted from a United Nations women's group on Wednesday for policies contrary to the rights of women and girls, a move proposed by the United States after Tehran's crackdown on protests over the death of a young woman in custody. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said removing Iran was the right thing to do. "It's hugely important for the women of Iran," Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters after the vote. IRAN REJECTS EXPULSIONSpeaking before the vote, Iran's U.N. Tehran accused Western states of using the council to target Iran in an "appalling and disgraceful" move.

Iran said Thursday it had executed a person arrested over the monthslong protests gripping the country, the first known death penalty carried out related to the unrest. At least 475 people have been killed and 18,000 others arrested, according to the watchdog Human Rights Activists in Iran, which is based just outside Washington. It "must be met with STRONG reactions otherwise we will be facing daily executions of protesters," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Oslo-based activist group Iran Human Rights, said in a tweet. The news agency alleged that Shekari was offered money to wield the machete and take part in the protests. Iran executed 314 people last year, the most in the world after China, according to data compiled by Amnesty.

After Iran’s loss to the United States on Tuesday, however, many Iranians cheered their players’ failure, saying they represented the repressive theocratic regime rather than the people it violently oppresses. On Tuesday, those criticizing the team made their voices heard: This was the Islamic Republic’s loss, not Iran’s. Meanwhile, there were thousands of tweets in Persian, or in English from prominent Iranians, saying how happy they were their own team had fallen at the first hurdle of the competition. “For 43 years the regime brainwashed Iranians to hate America,” Masih Alinejad, a New York-based Iranian journalist and activist, tweeted. “But see how people across Iran are celebrating the victory of the U.S. soccer team against the Islamic Republic.”Read the full story here.

On Tuesday, those criticizing the team made their voices heard: This was the Islamic Republic's loss, not Iran's. Meanwhile, there were thousands of tweets in Persian, or in English from prominent Iranians, saying how happy they were their own team had fallen at the first hurdle of the competition. Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images"For 43 years the regime brainwashed Iranians to hate America," Masih Alinejad, a New York-based Iranian journalist and activist, tweeted . "But see how people across Iran are celebrating the victory of the U.S. soccer team against the Islamic Republic." Reuters TVWhere the Iranian soccer team fits into all this has been a subject of debate among Iranians and those watching from abroad.

☆ Iran protests endure night of violence as killings reported across two cities
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alexander Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A night of violence flared across at least two Iranian cities as anti-government protests challenging the regime on an unprecedented level entered their third month. State media and local officials, including Hayati, said the people were shot dead by two "terrorists" riding motorcycles. Amini's death sparked protests that morphed into wider anti-government demonstrations that have swept the country, arguably the biggest challenge to the theocratic Islamic Republic since its founding in 1979. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported that protesters had gathered in different parts of Izeh, 280 miles south of the capital Tehran, and started chanting anti-government slogans. According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group, at least 342 people, including 43 children and 26 women, have been killed during the protests so far.

☆ Iran plotted to kidnap or kill at least 10 people in the U.K., British domestic spy chief says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Iran has plotted to kidnap or kill at least 10 British nationals or U.K.-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime this year, Britain’s domestic spy chief said Wednesday. Iran’s “aggressive intelligence services” are prepared to take reckless action and pose a direct threat to Britain, McCallum said. “At its sharpest this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or U.K.-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime. The MI5 chief also outlined other threats to the U.K., citing Russia and China in particular. “The Chinese authorities use all the means at their disposal to monitor — and where they deem necessary intimidate — the Chinese diaspora.

☆ Many Iranian women demand political change amid decades-long grievances
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

This is the result of years of repression of Iranian women," said Somayyeh. Compulsory dress code tops a long list of grievances of Iranian women, who make up more than half of the population and are among the most highly educated in the Middle East. Waves of the hijab protests have hit the clerical establishment in the past years. In 2014, Alinejad started a Facebook campaign "My Stealthy Freedom", where she shared pictures of unveiled Iranian women sent to her. It was followed by a campaign in 2017 for women to wear white headscarves on Wednesdays and the hijab protests in 2018, when women took to the streets holding their veils aloft.

☆ Iran shuts down the internet as government cracks down on protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIran shuts down the internet as government cracks down on protestsCNBC's Shep Smith reports on protests happening in Iran after a young woman died in police custody following her arrest for wearing what they called 'unsuitable attire. With Iranian-American reporter and activist Masih Alinejad.

☆ Analysis: Iran's leaders are safe but protests raise the stakes over imposing veil
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Michael Georgy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The death of Mahsa Amiri released decades of suppressed energy and will among women to fight back. Under Iran's Islamic Sharia law, imposed after the 1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to conceal their figures. While that defiance is common, the shock over Amini's death and nationwide protests have raised the stakes as Iranian women call for more freedoms. In 2014, rights activist Masih Alinejad started a Facebook campaign "My Stealthy Freedom", where she shared pictures of unveiled Iranian women sent to her. "The protests pose less of a risk to immediate government stability than to its legitimacy and sustainability over the longer term."

Amini’s death in the capital has ignited a wave of protests across the country, exposing a raw anger among Iranian women about their treatment by the regime and an unprecedented willingness to defy the government. She invites Iranian women to post their protest videos on social media under her #WhiteWednesdays hashtag campaign. At least four people have been killed so far by police in this week’s protests, according to Iranian-focused human rights organizations. Every prison sentence and arrest meted out by the regime has only radicalized Iranian women and served as a catalyst for more protests, Alinejad and other activists said. To me, I don’t see Iranian women like victims.

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