Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn indicted a senior official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Tuesday and three other in a failed assassination plot against prominent human rights activist Masih Alinejad.
The indictment accuses the group of orchestrating a 2022 plan to kill US-Iranian citizen Alinejad, a prominent journalist an critic of Iran’s treatment of women.
"Today’s indictment exposes the full extent of Iran’s plot to silence an American journalist for criticizing the Iranian regime,” US Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said in the unsealed indictment.
Writing on X, Alinejad blasted Iran's theocratic rulers.
"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," said Alinejad, responding to the indictment.
The alleged plot was disrupted by US law enforcement, which had previously charged members of an Eastern European criminal organization with ties to Iran with murder-for-hire.
This latest indictment directly implicates a high-ranking Iranian official for the first time. Brigadier General Ruhollah Bazghandi, a senior counterintelligence figure within the IRGC, is named as the key organizer of the assassination effort.
The US Treasury Department had already sanctioned Bazghandi in 2022, accusing him of playing a role in the detention of foreign prisoners in Iran and overseeing multiple assassination attempts against journalists and foreign nationals.
In announcing the new charges, US officials highlighted the IRGC’s extended reach in carrying out Iran’s policies abroad, including criminal activities aimed at silencing opposition voices.
Alinejad, who had resided in Brooklyn but has since relocated to another part of New York, has long been a vocal opponent of the Iranian government’s policies, particularly its strict laws regarding women’s dress codes.
She had previously written about Tehran’s efforts to abduct her and described the IRGC’s use of criminal gangs to carry out its work overseas. "The Iranian regime always uses criminal gangs to do their dirty jobs beyond their own borders, to get away from punishment," Alinejad said on Tuesday.
Failed plot
The indictment also mentions three other Iranian operatives involved in the plot—Hossein Sedighi, Seyed Mohammad Forouzan, and an individual known only by an alias, Haj Taher.
According to US prosecutors, the group had been continuously monitoring Alinejad since a failed attempt to kidnap her. This earlier plot, which came to light in 2021, involved using private investigators to track Alinejad’s movements and developing plans to transport her from New York to Venezuela.
Alinejad, whose criticism of Iran extends back decades, has accused the government of using her family in Iran as leverage against her. She says that the Iranian intelligence ministry had even attempted to lure her to a family reunion in Turkey, a ruse she believes was part of a larger plan to capture her.
Federal prosecutors have been stepping up efforts to counter foreign influence operations in the US.
The charges come at a tense time for US-Iran relations, with Iran’s influence in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militant group backed by Tehran, in focus as Israel prepares to hit back at Iran after an Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.
Iran has carried out assassinations and kidnappings of its opponents abroad over the past four decades. Countries like Germany, France, Turkey, and Iraq have been targets of Iranian intelligence for its deadly operations.
The criticism also reflects growing tension, partly fueled by Israel's threats pf military retaliation in response to Iran's October 1 missile attack.
In response to Ali Asghar Shefieian, an aide to President Pezeshkian who defended the president's recent government appointments, Javad Emam, spokesperson for the Reform Front—an umbrella group coordinating over two dozen groups—posted on X: "Why did the people vote for Pezeshkian? For no change? To endorse the ultraconservative Paydari Party’s agenda? To continue the previous government's political and security policies? To prolong regional tensions? To keep filtering the Internet and maintaining the Morality Police, and to let the military steer domestic politics? Or to ignore his supporters and campaign workers?"
Meanwhile, many social media users argued that things would not have been different had Pezeshkian’s rival won the election. Mocking Pezeshkian's campaign slogans, they posted satirical comments as if hardliner Saeed Jalili were now president, saying, "If Pezeshkian were president, the shadow of war wouldn’t loom over Iran. The EU wouldn’t have called the three Iranian islands occupied, and it wouldn’t have sanctioned Iran!" Nearly all such posts emphasize the looming threat of war between Iran and Israel.
In another development, prominent "reformist" figure Mostafa Hashemi Taba urged the government to be transparent with the public and "tell them the truth." He also called on President Pezeshkian to address discrimination and curb unnecessary government spending.
Criticizing Pezeshkian's idea of national reconciliation, Hashemi Taba said, "The president has appointed individuals with varying political affiliations to key jobs in various areas, but it seems they are not committed to their mandate. In this way, the government looks like a joint stock company that has no particular policy or methodology." Meanwhile, he pointed out that the selection of the government's middle managers has been done with a bad taste.
Stressing the need for government transparency, Hashemi Taba said President Pezeshkian could maintain public trust by keeping his promise to be honest with the people. As an example, he cited the government's claim that 20 million liters of gasoline are being smuggled out of Iran daily. He questioned the Oil Ministry's role, noting that it controls all aspects of gasoline. "How is the Oil Ministry merely watching as gasoline is imported and smuggled out of the country?" he asked.
Hashemi Taba hinted at government involvement in fuel smuggling, saying, "The government shouldn't reveal only 10 percent of the truth and remain silent on the other 90 percent." He added, "The 20 million liters of gasoline doesn’t come from gas station nozzles—it's too much, and there must be a system behind it. If they were honest with the people, they might not need further economic reforms." He also emphasized that "ending discrimination and curbing overspending should be central to the government's agenda."
Further criticizing Pezeshkian's notion of national reconciliation, Hashemi Taba remarked, "What we are witnessing is not true national reconciliation, which cannot be achieved under the current circumstances." He noted that the political rivals appointed to government positions are unlikely to change their views. "There must be a clear policy in place, and individuals from different political backgrounds should be committed to following that policy," he added.
Elaborating on the theme of honesty with the public, reformist activist and social media influencer Mehdi Mahmoudian wrote on X: "Pezeshkian is an honest man. He openly admitted that everything he did during the campaign was to win votes, and that after his victory, he would follow Khamenei's directives." Mahmoudian also accused Pezeshkian of catering to the 20 percent of eligible voters who supported him, while now showing an iron fist to the 60 percent who chose not to vote.
Pezeshkian stated that the budget, developed over two months, focuses on boosting economic growth and reducing inequality. He emphasized that strengthening defense capabilities and controlling inflation are also key priorities in the proposal.
Addressing the lawmakers, he warned that the rising cost of subsidies for fuel, including gasoline, has become a critical issue, with current consumption levels 40% higher than in 2019.
He explained that the production cost of each liter of gasoline—excluding crude oil—stands at approximately 80,000 rials (about 13 US cents). Furthermore, imported gasoline costs between 300,000 and 400,000 rials per liter (50 to 65 US cents).
Iran's heavily subsidized gasoline costs just 2 cents per liter (or less than 10 cents per gallon), making it one of the cheapest in the world. However, this subsidy comes at a steep price for the government, which spends billions annually to sustain it. To manage consumption, Iran has implemented a rationing system: motorcycle owners are limited to 25 liters per month, while personal car drivers can access up to 60 liters. Any usage beyond these limits incurs a charge of 5 cents per liter. In comparison, average gasoline prices in the region hover around $1 per liter.
For most Iranians, who earn about $200 per month, a large increase could push an already struggling population to the brink. Violent protests shook Iran in November 2019, when the government suddenly tripled gasoline prices.
Pezeshkian also stressed that reforms in the energy sector and fuel subsidies are essential to managing the nation’s growing economic imbalances.
He warned that if current consumption trends continue, Iran will need to import 130 trillion tomans (over $2 billion) worth of gasoline next year. This, he stressed, requires urgent reform to address these imbalances and ensure that energy subsidies benefit the most vulnerable.
While Iranian officials frequently assert that gasoline consumption is rising, reports from Iran International reveal that a significant portion of the daily gasoline sold is actually smuggled to neighboring countries due to the stark price disparity.
Pezeshkian pointed out that the budget calls for gradual economic reforms, including changes to the multi-tiered currency exchange system and fuel subsidies. He cited agreement among economists on the need to move towards a unified exchange rate. The Central Bank is already working on this policy, aiming to streamline currency exchange and reduce vulnerabilities to corruption within the economy, he added.
The president admitted that this budget, like many before it, faces challenges, particularly the country’s reliance on oil exports and deficits. Due to US sanctions, the Iranian government refrains from disclosing exact figures on its oil revenue. To circumvent sanctions, a significant portion of the country's exports is sold to smaller buyers, such as "teapot" refineries in China, through third parties. The government’s lack of transparency on this issue complicates the process of assessing the true state of the budget and revenue forecasts.
While the budget bill is a general draft and lacks detailed numbers on oil and fuel prices, Pezeshkian expressed confidence that it will eventually be approved by the Parliament. Historically, the Iranian Parliament has passed budget bills despite known deficits, which the government prefers to call "imbalances" or "discrepancies." Pezeshkian acknowledged that the country faces significant budget shortfall in several sectors.
For example, Pezeshkian noted that the government struggled with budget deficits in paying wheat farmers, a situation that was only resolved with the Supreme Leader’s approval to borrow from the National Development Fund.
The president also emphasized that next year’s budget draft includes increased support for low-income families, tax exemptions for wage earners, and expanded resources for healthcare, rail development, and housing for the underprivileged. However, tax revenues in the new budget are projected to reach a ceiling of 17,000 trillion rials (over $28 billion), marking a 39% increase year-on-year.
Immediately after delivering his speech to parliament, Pezeshkian visited the Hamas office in Tehran to offer condolences for the death of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the group.