THREE Assassination Attempts—Then THIS Happened

A CBS journalist who survived three Iranian assassination attempts delivered a powerful rebuke to Rep. Ilhan Omar for her sympathetic stance toward the terrorist regime that continues plotting her murder.

Story Snapshot

Masih Alinejad confronted her would-be assassin in court after he was sentenced to 15 years for an IRGC-directed murder plot
The Iranian dissident criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar for defending the same regime that paid $100,000 to have her killed
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard orchestrated multiple assassination attempts against Alinejad, including plots targeting President Trump
Federal prosecutors exposed the IRGC’s extensive network recruiting criminals in U.S. prisons to silence regime critics

CBS Contributor Confronts Hired Assassin in Federal Court

Carlisle Rivera received a 15-year federal sentence in Manhattan court for his role in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Brooklyn man accepted $100,000 from Iranian operative Farhad Shakeri to kill Masih Alinejad during her February 2024 speaking engagement at Fairfield University. Alinejad, wearing red to symbolize the blood of Iranian protesters, delivered a victim impact statement directly confronting Rivera before symbolically hugging him post-sentencing. Judge Lewis J. Liman described the assassination plans, which included detailed voice messages about home invasions and drive-by shootings, as “chilling” acts causing “great harm” to Alinejad and her family.

Iranian Regime’s Relentless Campaign Against Dissidents

This marks the third assassination plot Alinejad has survived since becoming a vocal critic of Iran’s compulsory hijab laws and regime brutality. In 2022, Russian mob members Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov accepted a $500,000 bounty to murder her, with triggerman Khalid Mehdiyev arrested by NYPD during a traffic stop carrying a rifle, ammunition, and mask outside her Brooklyn home. Both received 25-year sentences. The IRGC’s terror network extends beyond Alinejad, with prosecutors revealing Shakeri was also tasked with assassinating President Trump before the 2024 election. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei allegedly issued a fatwa labeling Alinejad an “American agent” after she compared Iran’s hijab enforcement to the Berlin Wall.

Dissident Challenges Omar’s Defense of Terrorist Regime

Alinejad publicly criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar for sympathizing with the Iranian regime responsible for ordering her assassination. The activist argued that sentencing hired criminals proves insufficient when U.S. lawmakers defend the same government funding these murder plots. Alinejad fled Iran following the 2009 Green Movement and now uses her CBS platform to expose IRGC atrocities, including recent massacres of protesters with AK-47s. She called the IRGC’s actions part of a global “spree” to silence critics, equating herself with Trump as targets the regime labels “great Satan.” This criticism highlights a fundamental divide between those who recognize Iran’s government as a terrorist threat and politicians whose rhetoric suggests otherwise.

Prison Networks Fuel Foreign Terror Operations on U.S. Soil

Federal prosecutors exposed how Iran exploits America’s criminal justice system by recruiting assassins through prison connections. Shakeri met Rivera in New York’s prison system before directing the murder plot from Iran, where he remains at large beyond U.S. jurisdiction. Co-conspirator Jonathan Loadholt faces sentencing in April 2026 for his role in the conspiracy. Defense attorneys sought lighter sentences of 10 to 13 years, claiming flawed evidence, but the court recognized the severity of foreign-directed terrorism on American soil. The IRGC’s designation as a terrorist organization under the previous administration underscores the threat posed by regime operatives leveraging domestic criminal networks to eliminate voices advocating for freedom and human rights in Iran.

Alinejad’s confrontation with both her assassin and sympathetic lawmakers reinforces the urgent need for accountability. She insists that prosecuting individual criminals accomplishes little when Supreme Leader Khamenei and IRGC commanders face no consequences for orchestrating murder on American soil. Her activism amplifies the voices of Iranian women through movements like #MyStealthyFreedom, challenging a regime that views free speech as an existential threat worthy of assassination. The case sets a critical precedent for combating foreign terror operations while exposing the dangers of political rhetoric that minimizes the brutal nature of regimes actively targeting American residents and former presidents.