Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad expressed gratitude toward the Trump administration and the United States after two of her would-be assassins were convicted this month.
The Justice Department announced last week that Rafat Amirov, 46, and Polad Omarov, 40, were convicted of murder-for-hire and attempted murder in aid of racketeering charges over their targeting of Alinejad, who has criticized Iran and its leadership. Alinejad reflected how Iran’s regime targeting her is “the regime, actually, that tried to kill President Trump” due to its opposition to democracy and freedom.
“And this is not even first time, Maria,” Alinejad explained on Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria Bartiromo. “It has been three times I survived the assassination plot. And another thing which give me goosebump: the government from my birth country, Iran, tried to kill me. I am grateful to America that they’re trying to protect me and give me a second life to fight for freedom, for America, for Iranian women.”
Alinejad also reflected on the ruling against her would-be assassins on X, writing that it marks the first time “the Islamic Republic is being held accountable” for attempting to bring “its campaign of terror to U.S. soil.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio also wrote that Iran’s attempt to silence critics “will be met with swift justice & accountability,” with Alinejad thanking him in a reply.
I and the women of Iran have today won and you @khamenei_ir and your hated regime have lost!
I am relieved that after nearly three years, moving more than 20 times between safe houses, the men hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me on US soil have been found guilty.
But make… pic.twitter.com/zmW2lP5iQt— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) March 20, 2025
Yesterday’s court decision shows Iran’s attempts at lethal plotting against Americans like @AlinejadMasih will be met with swift justice & accountability. Under @POTUS, Iran’s front groups and proxies trying to operate in the U.S. will be investigated, disrupted, and prosecuted.…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 21, 2025
Amid the Trump administration’s bid to crack down on Iran, Alinejad assessed how former President Joe Biden’s administration was “all about appeasement” to Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Alinejad added that this contrasted with how Trump is “empowered” to stand against the Middle Eastern country. She urged the administration to recognize that “maximum pressure” is the only language Iran understands and encouraged him to “empower the people of Iran” to end the country’s regime.
WHY TRUMP’S HOUTHI POLICY SHOULD AVOID FULL-SCALE WAR
Last week, President Donald Trump demanded that Iran end its support for the Yemen-based Houthi group. Trump previously warned that retaliatory attacks from the Houthis targeting U.S. troops would be attributed to Iran.
National security adviser Mike Waltz detailed how the Trump administration is pressuring Iran to end its nuclear program, saying the president will not settle for anything less than “full dismantlement.”
