Conspiracy to kidnap Masih Alinejad; Two US senators' plan to sanction Iran

Two Democratic and Republican senators have prepared a plan to target the Islamic Republic with new sanctions for the "plot to kidnap Masih Alinejad." They say this bipartisan plan could prevent any further kidnappings on American soil.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin have launched a plan to combat kidnappings on U.S. soil.

The two presented their plan at a press conference on Thursday, December 2, attended by journalist and activist Masih Alinejad. According to the draft plan, new sanctions would be imposed on Iran for the “kidnapping plot” against Ms. Alinejad.

Senators Toomey and Cardin emphasized at the aforementioned conference that their plan seeks to hold Iran accountable for the kidnapping of Alinejad, and that this will help prevent any further kidnapping attempts on US soil by foreign agents.

"If you dare to come to our country and kidnap an American citizen, you will see that there will be dire consequences," Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin said at the news conference.

Both senators noted that they will take every possible step to pass this bill so that it can be sent to Joe Biden for signature.

Republican Senator Toomey expressed optimism at a press conference that the bill would become law.

Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad also tweeted: "More senators are ready to support this law, and the time has come to punish the Islamic Republic's terrorism and threats against journalists and activists."

About four months ago, Alinejad announced that a plan to kidnap him by Iranian agents had failed.

The US Department of Justice announced at the time that an attempt by an Islamic Republic intelligence team to kidnap Masih Alinejad and transfer him to a third country with the US Federal Police's vigilance had failed. The US Department of Justice identified these individuals as Alireza Shahvaroghi Farahani, Mahmoud Khazein, Kia Sadeghi, and Omid Nouri.

All four, identified as members of an Islamic Republic intelligence network, are based in Iran. The team, led by Alireza Farahani, is said to have planned to kidnap Alinejad from his home in Brooklyn, take him to the beach, and transport him to Venezuela by speedboat.

The US Justice Department's statement stated that Islamic Republic agents had hired a private investigator to target Masih Alinejad over the past two years.