A man accused of being hired to kill an Iranian-American journalist and opposition figure revealed details surrounding the hit job, including his day work at a pizza restaurant.
Khaled Mehdiyev, a 27-year-old originally from Azerbaijan, pleaded guilty to attempting to assassinate Masih Alinejad in 2022. He admitted that he received orders from mobsters Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov.
Agents of the Iranian regime have been hunting and trying to kill Alinejad relentlessly since she fled to the United States in 2009 as part of broader efforts by the Islamic Republic to silence their most vocal critics.
While Mehdiyev confessed that Amirov and Omarov hired him to kill Alinejad after they received orders from Ruhollah Bazghandi, a brigadier general for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he did not offer any additional details during a lengthy cross-examination on proceedings against Mehdiyev, Amirov, and Omarov.
Federal prosecutors said Bazghandi and his network orchestrated the plan to kill Alinejad in Brooklyn, New York. He previously served as the chief of the IRGC’s counterintelligence department.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Mehdiyev was working a day job at a pizza restaurant while trying to kill Alinejad, which explains the series of errors he made when he planned to perform the assassination attempt against her, which includes trying to open her door, ordering food while he was lurking outside Alinejad’s home, and even running a stop sign, eventually leading to his arrest on July 28, 2022.
“As you’re coordinating an international kidnapping, you’re also working at a pizza shop?“ Elena Fast, the defense attorney for one of Mehdiyev’s alleged bosses, asked him as he sat on the stand in the Manhattan federal court.
“That’s correct,“ Mehdiyev replied.
“Big responsibility, doing both at the same time!“ Fast said of Mehdiyev’s work at Peppino’s.
“That’s right, miss,“ the Azerbaijani suspect replied dryly.
His testimony came during proceedings against Amirov and Omarov, fellow natives of Azerbaijan who are now on trial and charged with murder-for-hire and attempted murder in aid of racketeering. The three are allegedly part of the same gang in Azerbaijan.
The Iranian regime is noted for using criminal gangs in attempts to silence dissidents and critics. In 2024, criminal groups such as the notorious biker gang Hells Angels were hired by individuals connected to the Iranian government to kill an Iranian defector in Maryland.
The court also heard that Mehdiyev tried to get close to Alinejad by sending grammatically incorrect texts.
“U the best journalist,“ Mehdiyev typed in one text shown to the jury.
“Hey. How are you. I wanna make immigrants paper, do u can help for that?“ another text read, which referred to Alinejad helping with requests for asylum.
Mehdiyev, who claimed to have been paid $30,000 for the hit, decided to cooperate with the federal authorities after pleading guilty to attempted murder and gun charges. Omarov and Amirov, on the other hand, pleaded not guilty.
Mehdiyev could face at least 15 years in prison for trying to kill Alinejad, as well as other racketeering charges. Omarov and Amirov could be imprisoned for decades if they are proven guilty of the charges filed against them.
