An Iranian military official is facing charges for allegedly orchestrating a plot to assassinate an Iranian-American journalist in New York, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday, Oct. 22. The charges expose an international network of conspirators working to silence a prominent critic of the Iranian regime, according to the DOJ.
Ruhollah Bazghandi, a brigadier general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, was charged in connection with the plot to kill journalist Masih Alinejad. Three others were also charged in the plot.
Justice Department Announces Murder-For-Hire Charges Against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Brigadier General and Former Intelligence Officer and Members of an Iranian Intelligence Networkhttps://t.co/6ZCsjfFPpf pic.twitter.com/oBnRZH23Wn
— FBI (@FBI) October 22, 2024
Alinejad is a well-known human rights activist and vocal critic of the Iranian government. The DOJ said Bazghandi contracted members of an Eastern European criminal organization to carry out the assassination in New York.
The Justice Department also unsealed a superseding indictment. It added charges of money laundering and sanctions evasion to the initial murder-for-hire charges, following new findings in the investigation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized that the U.S. will not tolerate attempts by authoritarian regimes to target U.S. citizens.
“We will never stop working to identify, find and bring to justice all those who endanger the safety of the American people,” Garland said in a statement.
Bazghandi and his associates are believed to be in Iran and face significant legal penalties. If convicted, they could be sentenced to 10 years for murder-for-hire, 10 years for conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering and 20 years for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Alinejad has previously been the target of similar plots. A man hired to assassinate her was arrested near her home with a loaded rifle in 2022. Alinejad said the plot is a reminder of the lengths Iran will go to silence critics.
This case is the latest in a series of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. officials have accused the Iranian government of targeting dissidents and other officials. The DOJ said this is in retaliation for various actions, including the 2020 killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.