Agents with federal law enforcement have officially arrested 23-year-old Khalid Mehdiyev, just outside the house of Iranian dissident and author Masih Alinejad this past week, and are now opening an investigation if he was there as part of a plot to try and assassinate her.
Alinejad, who is herself a citizen of the United States, has found herself as the recurring target of the Islamic Republic of Iran due to the extremely high level of influence that she holds online while taking a stance against the regime. Police state that they observed Mehdiyev staked out in a car, which sported an out-of-state license plate, for several hours over the course of at least two days last week, adding that at one point he left the vehicle and attempted to peer into the windows of Alinejad’s house.
“These are the scary scenes capturing a man who tried to enter my house in New York with a loaded gun to kill me,” stated Alinejad as part of a social media post that included a video clip from a camera attached to her front door that allegedly shows the suspect. “Last year the FBI stopped the Islamic Republic from kidnapping me. My crime is giving voice to voiceless people. The US administration must be tough on terror.”
These are the scary scenes capturing a man who tried to enter my house in New York with a loaded gun to kill me.
Last year the FBI stopped the Islamic Republic from kidnapping me.
My crime is giving voice to voiceless people. The US administration must be tough on terror. pic.twitter.com/XsxlFLSlOk— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) July 31, 2022
Police forces were able to stop the man in his car when he failed to stop for a stop sign and arrested him when they found that he was operating the car without a license. Police then discovered a fully loaded AK-47 in the car with a serial number that had been allegedly ground off, which is in itself a felony.
“Shocked to learn that an assassin with a loaded AK47 came my home in Brooklyn,” stated Alinejad. “Last year, the Islamic Republic, tried to kidnap me, now they want to kill me. I’m grateful to federal agents but the Administration must do more to protect US citizens.”
Four operatives with Iranian intelligence, who are still at large, had last year conspired to try and kidnap Alinejad in the wake of her repeated criticism of the regime, explained U.S. prosecutors via charging documents just last year.
The federal indictment alleged that the men carried out a plot to lure her to another country in which they would kidnap her and then forcefully take her back to Iran. The federal investigators stated that professionals stalked and mapped her movements.
Another, the fifth, person living within the U.S. was charged with giving financial help to an alleged plot, but was not themselves clammed with a charge in the actual kidnapping plot.
Despite the incident that took place this past week, Alinejad used their Sunday evening to advocate for the rights of Iranian Women that had been forced to make confessions.
“While the international media is paying attention to my assassination plot in the US, let’s remember these women who have been forced to give false confessions against themselves on Iranian state TV,” she explained via a social media post. “These acts of terror won’t stop our fight against forced hijab.”
While the international media is paying attention to my assassination plot in the US, let’s remember these women who have been forced to give false confessions against themselves on Iranian state TV. These acts of terror won’t stop our fight against forced hijab.#LetUsTalk pic.twitter.com/i3LQXcYcQd
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) July 31, 2022
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