Two men face US trial over Iran-backed plot to kill dissident

10/3/2025 19:04

Two men accused of being members of a Russian organized crime group will face trial in the United States on Monday over what prosecutors call an unsuccessful Tehran-backed attempt to kill an Iranian dissident living in New York.



Federal prosecutors say Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2021 hired Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, members of a "Russian mob" sub-group, to kill an Iranian American journalist and activist who has spoken out against the Iranian government's treatment of women.



Amirov, 45, and Omarov, 40, have pleaded not guilty to murder for hire and attempted murder in aid of racketeering.