Iran Tries to Kidnap an American Citizen — in America

This is the true nature of the Iranian regime: brutal, dishonest, murderous. And the Biden administration wants to revive a deal that allows this same regime to build an industrial-sized nuclear program. By Aaron Kliegman The State Department told Congress on Tuesday that it would waive sanctions on Iran’s oil trade so that the Iranian regime could access frozen funds from Japan and South Korea. That same day, the Justice Department announced charges against Iranian intelligence agents for plotting to kidnap an American citizen in the US and forcibly return her to Iran, where she was born. That both events happened almost simultaneously is fittingly symbolic of the Biden administration’s approach to Iran — an approach of appeasing the regime and rewarding its bad behavior. Indeed, the administration’s decision to waive sanctions so Iran can repay oil exporters is just the latest step by Washington to remove economic pressure on the regime. Last month, the administration authorized certain transactions involving the Central Bank of Iran or the National Iranian Oil Company, each of which the US has sanctioned for financing Iranian-backed terrorism. The prior week, the Treasury Department repealed economic penalties on several former Iranian officials and energy companies. Each round of sanctions relief was a unilateral move by President Biden’s team, for which the US received nothing in return. The purpose was to inject momentum into ongoing but stalled nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran. Same for the latest waiver freeing up money from Iran’s illicit oil trade. They are desperate gestures meant to encourage Tehran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which the Biden administration is hellbent on saving — even if it means enriching the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. That’s bad enough, but this week the administration reached a new low in its desperation. Following the announcement of Iran’s alleged plot to kidnap an American citizen, the State Department released a statement effectively dismissing it as a non-issue for the department. “This is a law enforcement matter and we refer you to the Department of Justice for any further inquiries,” the statement said. What? This was a foreign power — an avowed enemy — trying to kidnap a US citizen on American soil. How is that something of no concern to the State Department? The statement never even mentioned the fact that the target was a citizen or that the kidnapping was supposed to occur in America. It only noted the regime’s abuse of the Iranian people’s human rights, using generic language that wouldn’t rattle a teenager — let alone an Islamist theocracy bent on regional domination. This is even more shocking when you consider what actually happened. According to federal prosecutors, Iranian intelligence targeted Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and activist who has been an outspoken critic of the regime’s cruelty and misogyny. Alinejad, who lives in Brooklyn, said federal agents informed her of the scheme last year and explained it was the first known attempt by Iranian officials to kidnap someone on American soil. On Tuesday, prosecutors unveiled the “kidnapping conspiracy, sanctions violations conspiracy, bank and wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy charges” against an Iranian intelligence official and three Iranian intelligence assets, all of whom remain at large in Iran. A fifth person, a resident of California, was charged with supporting the plot financially and conspiring to commit fraud, money laundering, and sanctions violations. Prosecutors explained how the Iranian regime tried to lure Alinejad to Iran through her relatives, who refused to cooperate. When that failed, Iran sought other ways to get her out of the US, including a plan to abduct her to Venezuela and then move her to Iran for imprisonment. Such plots may sound like they’re straight out of a movie, but they’re hardly new for Iran’s murderous government. In 2019, for example, Iranian agents lured Ruhollah Zam, a dissident journalist living under asylum in France, to Iraq, where they abducted him. The operatives then brought Zam to Iran, where the regime executed him last December for inspiring anti-government protests. What’s new, however, is trying such an abduction in the US. But the Iranians are no strangers to plotting to attack Americans in America. Indeed, for years, Iran and its chief proxy, Lebanese Hezbollah, have maintained sleeper cells and sleeper agents in the US, waiting for Tehran’s signal to strike. One operative for Hezbollah told the FBI during interviews in 2016 and 2017 that, if the US and Iran went to war, “the US sleeper cell would expect to be called upon to act.” Iranian and Hezbollah agents have also been arrested for collecting intelligence, monitoring Jewish facilities and Iranian dissidents, and conducting “covert terrorist activities” inside the US. This is the true nature of the Iranian regime: brutal, dishonest, murderous. And the Biden administration wants to revive a deal that allows this same regime to build an industrial-sized nuclear program. Removing sanctions, ignoring kidnapping plots — to Biden, keeping Iran at the negotiating table is worth every concession. Bottom line: This is appeasement. And Iran will only get bolder from here. Newt hosts monthly virtual events in which he discusses news of the day and why it matters to you and your community. These Newt Live events are your opportunity to communicate directly with Newt. We hope you will join us next time and let Newt answer your questions and provide his insight on the issues that concern you most. JOIN TODAY to be a part of this special event and receive a BONUS GIFT. Click here to join Newt’s Inner Circle. More from Aaron Kliegman:

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