In a dramatic and chilling case that underscores the global reach of authoritarian regimes—and the resilience of American justice—two high-ranking members of the Russian Mob were sentenced this week in New York for their roles in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by the Iranian government. The intended victim: Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist renowned for her outspoken criticism of Tehran’s treatment of women and dissidents.
On October 31, 2025, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon handed down 25-year federal prison sentences to Rafat Amirov, 46, of Iran, and Polad Omarov, 41, of Georgia. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the men were convicted in March 2025 after a two-week trial on charges of murder-for-hire, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and related offenses. The plot, as revealed in court, was as audacious as it was international, spanning three continents and culminating with an armed hitman lurking outside Alinejad’s Brooklyn apartment.
The details of the conspiracy read like a spy thriller, but the consequences were all too real. According to Justice Department filings and trial evidence, the plot was orchestrated by high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s powerful and secretive military force. Frustrated by multiple failed attempts to kidnap Alinejad from the United States in 2020 and 2021, the IRGC turned to organized crime. They offered Amirov, identified as a “Vor” or Thief-in-Law—the highest rank in the Russian Mob—a staggering $500,000 to arrange Alinejad’s murder. Amirov and Omarov, leaders of an Azerbaijani faction of the Russian Mob, took the assignment.
“The defendants and their criminal associates came chillingly close to gunning down an Iranian-American journalist on the streets of New York,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said, according to Golden Gate Media. “Tehran has long sought to silence Ms. Alinejad, and after multiple failed kidnapping attempts, turned to Omarov and Amirov and their organization to stalk and murder her.”
The plot’s execution was methodical. Amirov received targeting information from his IRGC contacts—including Alinejad’s home address—and passed it to Omarov. Omarov, in turn, coordinated with Khalid Mehdiyev, a mob associate living in Yonkers, New York. Mehdiyev was tasked with surveilling Alinejad and preparing for the attack. To finance the murder, the IRGC provided a $30,000 advance payment, which Mehdiyev used to purchase an AK-47 style assault rifle, two magazines, and 66 rounds of ammunition.
Beginning in late July 2022, Mehdiyev repeatedly staked out Alinejad’s Brooklyn residence, sending photos and updates to Omarov, who relayed them to Amirov. The tension mounted as the plot neared its climax. On July 27-28, 2022, Omarov messaged Amirov that Mehdiyev was ready to kill the journalist, stating, “this matter will be over today,” according to Tampa Free Press.
But fate—and law enforcement—intervened. On the day the plot was set to unfold, Mehdiyev was stopped by police for a traffic violation. A search of his vehicle uncovered the loaded assault rifle, ammunition, cash, and a ski mask. The would-be hitman was arrested before he could act, and the conspiracy unraveled. “This was a critical turn of events that prevented a potential tragedy and led to the unraveling of the conspiracy,” the U.S. Attorney's Office noted.
U.S. officials did not mince words in their condemnation of the plot. “The Government of Iran, a sponsor of terrorism, assassination, and espionage around the globe, brazenly brought its efforts to murder Masih Alinejad to New York,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. He emphasized the international scope of the conspiracy: “The plot exposed at trial involved actors on three continents, culminating with a hitman with an AK-47 outside Ms. Alinejad’s apartment in Brooklyn.”
The prosecution’s success was due in no small part to the collaborative efforts of multiple agencies, including the FBI’s New York Field Office and the NYPD. FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia underscored the significance: “Amirov and Omarov operated as unlawful enforcers for a foreign government to target an American journalist on our nation’s soil,” he stated. “This sentencing should emphasize the FBI’s steadfast commitment to protecting Americans against any foreign actor seeking to inflict terror and physical harm.”
For their roles in the conspiracy, Amirov and Omarov were each ordered to pay a $500 special assessment in addition to their quarter-century sentences—a symbolic but pointed reminder of the gravity of their crimes. The sentences also serve as a warning to those who would attempt to export repression and violence onto American soil. “This sentencing marks a victory for justice and a clear warning to those who seek to export repression onto U.S. soil,” said FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky, as reported by Golden Gate Media.
The case has shined a spotlight on a disturbing trend: the increasing willingness of authoritarian regimes to target dissidents abroad, often by enlisting the services of transnational criminal networks. “This case is part of a well-documented and disturbing rise in plots involving criminal networks paid by Iran to target dissidents in the United States and around the world,” Eisenberg warned. The attempted murder of Masih Alinejad, a journalist exercising her right to free speech, is just one example of these escalating threats.
Masih Alinejad herself has long been a thorn in the side of the Iranian regime, advocating for women’s rights and exposing human rights abuses through her reporting and activism. Her survival, thanks to the vigilance of law enforcement, is a testament to the importance of protecting journalists and dissidents—no matter where threats may originate.
The sentencing of Amirov and Omarov closes a harrowing chapter in a saga that could have ended in tragedy. It also sends a powerful message: the United States will not tolerate foreign-backed plots to silence voices of dissent. As Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg put it, “The DOJ and our partners will expose and severely punish those who target U.S. citizens and bring terror to our community.”
While the world grows smaller and the reach of repressive states grows longer, this case stands as a stark reminder that justice, vigilance, and international cooperation remain formidable barriers against those who would threaten the freedoms that define American society.
