Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad celebrated the court conviction of two men in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting her by openly challenging Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei in a social media post. Alinejad, a journalist, was targetted by two men, who allegedly worked for the Iranian government after she campaigned against the mandatory wearing of headscarves for Iranian women.
Alinejad was not at the at the Manhattan federal court when the verdict the delivered but she reportedly broke down hearing the news. She also expressed her relief at the verdict after the assassination attempt that happened at her Brooklyn home. The journalist, however, minced no words when she targeted Iran's ruling regime, calling them "the real masterminds" who are still in power in Iran.
It was then that Alinejad took to X to celebrate her victory and slam Khamenei. "I and the women of Iran have today won and you @khamenei_ir and your hated regime have lost!," she posted to X.
I and the women of Iran have today won and you @khamenei_ir and your hated regime have lost!
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) March 20, 2025
I am relieved that after nearly three years, moving more than 20 times between safe houses, the men hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me on US soil have been found guilty.
But make… pic.twitter.com/zmW2lP5iQt
"For the first time, the regime of the Islamic Republic is being held accountable for bringing its campaign of terror to U.S. soil," Alinejad wrote, "This is just the beginning of exposing and dismantling its network of violence."
The incident related to the plot to murder Alinejad happened in 2021 when Iranian intelligence officers reportedly hired two Russian mobsters, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, to assassinate her. The duo were convicted of murder for hire, firearms possession and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The US Justice Department said the Iranian officials planned to lure Alinejad to a third country where the abduction was planned.
They plotted to pay off her relatives in Iran to betray her which failed. They also hired private investigators to spy on the target's Brooklyn home and family and set up a live video feed of the property. The mobsters also planned to take a military-style speedboat to evacuate her from New York City to Venezuela, an ally of Iran.
The Prosecutors said Iran's government was the mastermind of the plot, however, Tehran termed the allegations "ridiculous and baseless".
