Masih Alinejad, 48, a prominent Iranian American human rights activist in Berlin on Nov. 9. Ebrahim Noroozi / AP file
A trial has found two Iranian men guilty of premeditated murder after Iranian government officials hired them to kill US-based journalist Masih Alinejad. The March 21, 2025, verdict from federal prosecutors has moved forward the relationship tension between Iran and the United States.
The Assassination Plot
Federal prosecutors declared verdicts against Rafat Amirov, who was 46 years old, and Polad Omarov, who was 40 years old, after finding them guilty of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and attempted murder in aid of racketeering money laundering and firearm possession in relation to their assassination plot. The two offenders received orders from top IRGC officials to execute Alinejad based on her vocal opposition to Iranian government policies towards women.
The assassination plan delivered orders to Khalid Mehdiyev in 2022 since Amirov and Omarov hired this Yonkers, New York resident to execute the killing. The collected $30,000 from Iran enabled Mehdiyev to acquire an AK-47-style assault rifle to perform the attack. On July 28, 2022, the authorities arrested Mehdiyev when he stopped his vehicle near Alinejad’s Brooklyn residence, and they found the firearm together with 66 rounds of ammunition along with $1,100 in cash inside the car. Surveillance cameras recorded Mehdiyev’s effort to access Alinejad’s front door on the day before he received his arrest.
The assault rifle that was allegedly going to be used to carry out the murder. U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
A History of Targeting Alinejad
The Iranian authorities previously attempted to harm Alinejad. The abduction and forced deportation of Alinejad to Iran was stopped before execution by the U.S. authorities in 2021. Iran rejected all accusations regarding both plots and described them as groundless. American officials demonstrate that Iran uses such tactics as part of its global initiative against foreign dissidents.
From left, Rafat Amirov, Polad Omarov. U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
Alinejad’s Response and International Reactions
According to Alinejad, the Iranian regime received its first official accountability for conducting acts of terrorism on American territory. They failed. I am still here.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tweeted about the conviction that Iran’s lethal plans targeting Americans such as Alinejad will receive instant justice and full accountability.
The sentencing hearing of Amirov and Omarov will take place on September 27, 2025, and they will receive life sentences behind bars. The case evidence demonstrates increasing concerns about foreign assassination threats against Americans in the United States, which leads to greater demands for enhanced security protection of activists and journalists based in the U.S.
The political dispute between Iran and the United States has reached new heights because of this incident, which has enriched their existing geopolitical rivalry. The U.S. government maintains its position that Iran must refrain from endangering any American individuals found anywhere in the U.S. territory.
