Russian Mob Leaders Sentenced to 25 Years for Murder-for-Hire Plot Backed by Iran

Two senior members of a Russian-Azerbaijani crime syndicate have been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for their roles in a murder-for-hire plot directed by the Iranian government to assassinate Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist, author, and human-rights advocate.

Federal prosecutors confirmed that Rafat Amirov, 46, and Polad Omarov, 41, operated as high-ranking figures within an Azerbaijani faction of the Russian mob. Both men coordinated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to arrange the killing, offering a New York-based hitman $30,000 in advance payment from a promised $500,000 bounty to carry out the assassination.

According to court records, Alinejad had long been a target of Tehran’s repression campaigns. After multiple failed kidnapping attempts in 2020 and 2021, the IRGC allegedly turned to criminal networks outside Iran to finish the job. The defendants—Amirov, a Vor (Thief-in-Law) within the Russian underworld, and Omarov, his associate and cousin of another Vor—accepted the contract, receiving surveillance data and targeting intelligence directly from IRGC operatives.

By July 2022, the conspirators had recruited Khalid Mehdiyev, a Yonkers resident tied to their organization, to conduct stakeouts near Alinejad’s Brooklyn home. Mehdiyev repeatedly surveilled her residence, sending photos and videos to Omarov, who relayed them to Amirov and his Iranian contacts. When police stopped Mehdiyev’s car on July 28, 2022, officers discovered an AK-47-style rifle, 66 rounds of ammunition, cash, gloves, and a ski mask—evidence of an imminent attack.

The federal investigation revealed a multi-continent conspiracy spanning Iran, Georgia, the Czech Republic, and the United States. After Mehdiyev’s arrest, Omarov allegedly contacted his family members and threatened to kill them unless the IRGC’s money was returned.

Both men were convicted in March 2025 of murder-for-hire, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and related offenses following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in the Southern District of New York. Judge McMahon imposed identical 25-year prison terms and a $500 special assessment.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described the case as “a direct assault on American sovereignty,” stating that the Iranian regime’s plot “brought a foreign government’s terror network onto the streets of New York.” Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg added that the sentencing reflects “a disturbing rise in state-sponsored violence through hired criminal proxies.” FBI Assistant Director Christopher G. Raia emphasized that the Bureau “will not tolerate foreign governments turning American soil into their battlefield.”

The case highlights how Tehran’s intelligence services have increasingly relied on organized-crime intermediaries to silence dissidents abroad, extending Iran’s repression far beyond its borders. Alinejad, known for her outspoken criticism of the Iranian regime and advocacy for women’s rights, remains under federal protection.

The investigation was led by the FBI New York Field Office Counterintelligence-Cyber Division and the Iran Threat Task Force, with support from the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, the DOJ National Security Division, the Office of International Affairs, and law-enforcement partners in the Czech Republic.

Source: U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York — United States v. Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, Sentencing Memorandum and Judgment (Oct 30 2025).

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