A U.S. court has sentenced two Azerbaijani nationals to lengthy prison terms for their role in a failed plot to assassinate Iranian dissident and journalist Masih Alinejad in New York.
According to Reuters, 46-year-old Rafat Amirov and 41-year-old Polad Omerov were each sentenced to 25 years in prison by a New York federal court after being found guilty of attempted murder-for-hire and conspiracy.
U.S. prosecutors said the men acted under the direction of Tehran, with the operation financed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which allegedly paid $500,000 for the attempted killing.
Masih Alinejad, a well-known Iranian journalist and women’s rights advocate, fled Iran in 2009 after criticizing the government’s treatment of women and compulsory hijab laws.
She has since become one of Tehran’s most outspoken exiled critics and has previously survived multiple kidnapping and assassination plots.
The case underscores growing international concerns over Iran’s extraterritorial repression, as Western security agencies continue to uncover networks targeting opposition voices abroad – including dissidents, journalists, and activists living in exile.
