‘Go to Hell!’ Iranian Writer Blasts Islamic Republic on CNN After Man With Assault Rifle Arrested Outside of Her Home
An Iranian-American journalist tore into the Iranian government as she held the regime directly responsible for a recent incident involving a man who was arrested outside of her home in Brooklyn.
Law enforcement officials arrested Khalid Mehdiyev last week after observing two days of suspicious behavior from him outside the residence of Masih Alinejad, a women’s rights activist and outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic. Reports on the criminal complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan say Mehdiyev was found to be driving without a license, and investigators found a loaded AK-47 assault rifle, spare ammunition, and $1,100 in $100 bills after searching his car.
Mehdiyev’s arrest follows a previous incident last year when Alinejad was targeted in an alleged kidnapping conspiracy orchestrated by Iranian intelligence, though the Iranian government has denied this accusation. Alinejad spoke to CNN’s New Day about all of this on Monday, expressing her shock as she said “It’s not about me. My stepchildren live in the same house.”
“Just imagine if the guy had open fire, who knows how many of my neighbors would have been killed,” she said. “This is happening in America! This is happening a second time. They tried to assassinate, to kill and kidnap an American citizen on U.S. soil. So, I’m not scared of my life, but this is scary, happening in front of the eyes of the whole world.”
Asked why she suspects this incident is connected to the kidnapping plot, Alinejad pointed out that the Iranian government has oppressed her family and her contacts within the country in retaliation for her work.
“I don’t have any enemy, I’m not a criminal, so of course, this is the Iranian regime,” Alinejad said. “When the U.S. government does not take a strong action, of course, they feel more powerful to continue this. I see the pattern, the continuation of oppressing women, oppressing dissidents outside Iran.”
Alinejad eventually asked to speak to the camera directly, and she delivered an emphatic condemnation of the Iranian regime. She also called on the Biden administration to take stronger action to condemn Iran’s conduct.
I wanna tell you…Go to hell! I am not scared of you! I have only one life. You care about power. I care about my dignity and freedom, like millions of other people inside Iran. I’m not scared of you. You can kill me, but you cannot kill the idea, the idea is just fighting for freedom, dignity, and here I have a message for Biden administration: shut down the Islamic Republic intersection. Throw out all the Iranian diplomats! Why are they here? The Iranian regime twice challenged the U.S. government on U.S. soil. I deserve to have freedom in the United States of America. Kick them out! If you don’t, believe me, they’re gonna come after more American citizens.
Watch above, via CNN.
