Masih Alinejad, a women's rights activist in Iran and host of a program on VOA's Persian service, was the target of a sophisticated kidnapping attempt by Iranian authorities. In an interview with VOA, the Iranian regime critic criticizes how US federal agents rescued her from the plot.
Masih Alinejad, host of VOA's Persian Service Tablet, says this is not the first time she has received threats, but not to this extent.
" I know the Islamic Republic had a plan to kidnap me from New York. I can not believe it myself. But the FBI told me eight months ago that I could not be safe in my home. I do not "I took it so seriously and told them I was receiving daily death threats ," Ms Alinejad told VOA.
According to U.S. federal agents, the detailed plot, apparently undertaken by Iranian intelligence agents, included the abduction of Ms. Alinejad and her forcible deportation to Iran. On Tuesday, the Justice Department formally charged five Iranian nationals with involvement in the scheme.
" They have never done anything so daring, an attempt to kidnap an American citizen in the United States, but they have done it in Europe, they have done it in the UAE. This is a regime that survives. "And Masih Alinejad has been very vocal in her criticism of the Iranian regime and has been very effective in trying to get people to organize in various forms of resistance to the regime," said Abbas Milani. , Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University.
Ms. Alinejad, who fled Iran in 2009 and is now a U.S. citizen, tackles human rights abuses by the Iranian government and has led a social media movement against Iranian laws that make hijabs mandatory for women.
" I gave a platform to women inside Iran to say no to cover their faces, to say that in the 21st century we want to enter a stadium, to have the right to sing, to dance. They just want to have a normal life. "I will give a platform to people inside Iran who say no to the Islamic Republic. Is this a crime? I am just doing my job. But being a journalist is a crime in the eyes of the Islamic Republic," said Alinejad.
Iran has dismissed the Justice Department report on the kidnapping plot as "baseless." But intelligence expert Heather Williams tells VOA that the Iranian government has tried to lure, or force dissidents to return to Iran.
" With some of the previous operations, they have tried to lure, or persuade people to return to Iran, where they may have more means to imprison this individual and even execute them. And it seems like some of "These tactics are working and so they are becoming more aggressive ," she said.
Journalist Alinejad has called for an equally aggressive response from Mr. Biden's administration, which also faces a subtle effort to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.
" We have never considered Iran a positive actor in the world, not only because of this conspiracy to kidnap an American citizen living in the US, but also because of their activities in the region, about which we have had many concerns. and at the same time, we continue to think that it is in the US interest, in our national interest, to engage in ongoing discussions in order to have more information about Iran's efforts. for the production of a nuclear weapon, " said Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman.
The UN also condemned the kidnapping plot for which Iran is accused.
