An Iran Revolutionary Guard official was charged by the US government over a plot to kill an Iranian American journalist and Iranian opposition activist who is living in NYC, according to an indictment which was rewritten and filed on Tuesday.
Masih Alinejad, the Iranian dissident whose identity was confirmed to the Associate Press, was targeted to be killed by Ruhollah Bazghandi and three other men who were added to the indictment against others also accused of trying to kill Alinejad. The author fled Iran after the disputed 2009 presidential election and has been living in exile in the United States while continuing to be a vocal human rights activist against the Iranian regime.
Bazghandi, who has not been detained in custody, has been described in court papers as a brigadier general of the Revolutionary Guard who previously served as chief of the counterintelligence department. In April 2023, the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the US Department of Treasury identified Bazghandi as being involved in assassination plots against journalists, Israeli, citizens, and others deemed as enemies of Iran, per the AP. The indictment also said he participated in the in the "detention of foreign prisoners held in Iran and involvement in operations in Syria by the Revolutionary Guard’s counterintelligence department."
This comes after the Iran Revolutionary Guard was designated by the US as a global terrorist organization as a supporting wing if Iran's international terrorism.
Alinejad said of the revised indictment: "The revelation that the assassination plot against me in July 2022 was orchestrated by Ali Khamenei’s IRGC is a stark reminder of the brutal lengths to which the Islamic regime will go to silence dissidents, even those far beyond Iran’s borders. But this new charge exposes not only the Islamic Republic, but also its lobbyists and even some who call themselves the opposition yet denied this assassination plot. They too stand exposed for shielding the regime’s crimes."
Masih Alinejad, the Iranian dissident whose identity was confirmed to the Associate Press, was targeted to be killed by Ruhollah Bazghandi and three other men who were added to the indictment against others also accused of trying to kill Alinejad. The author fled Iran after the disputed 2009 presidential election and has been living in exile in the United States while continuing to be a vocal human rights activist against the Iranian regime.
Bazghandi, who has not been detained in custody, has been described in court papers as a brigadier general of the Revolutionary Guard who previously served as chief of the counterintelligence department. In April 2023, the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the US Department of Treasury identified Bazghandi as being involved in assassination plots against journalists, Israeli, citizens, and others deemed as enemies of Iran, per the AP. The indictment also said he participated in the in the "detention of foreign prisoners held in Iran and involvement in operations in Syria by the Revolutionary Guard’s counterintelligence department."
This comes after the Iran Revolutionary Guard was designated by the US as a global terrorist organization as a supporting wing if Iran's international terrorism.
Alinejad said of the revised indictment: "The revelation that the assassination plot against me in July 2022 was orchestrated by Ali Khamenei’s IRGC is a stark reminder of the brutal lengths to which the Islamic regime will go to silence dissidents, even those far beyond Iran’s borders. But this new charge exposes not only the Islamic Republic, but also its lobbyists and even some who call themselves the opposition yet denied this assassination plot. They too stand exposed for shielding the regime’s crimes."
