Four Iranian intelligence officials have been charged with planning to kidnap journalists based in New York who are critical of Iran, the US prosecutor said.
The charges did not mention the target, but still Alinejad, an American-American writer and activist, said that he was.
The conspirator, all of which live in Iran and remain in general, is also allegedly plotted to lure someone in England and three others in Canada to Iran.
The Iranian government said the allegations were “silly and unfounded”.
The US Justice Department said Iranian officials tried to lure journalists based in New York to third countries where the kidnapping was planned.
“To be honest, I was emotionally angry. I was angry. Instead of just afraid it made me angry,” Alinejad told the BBC News, illustrating how the FBI agent came to his house to tell him that he was “insecure”.
Researchers even offered money to the relatives of writers in Iran to betray them, which they refused to do so, the charges argued.
They hired private investigators to spy on the house and family target Brooklyn, and arrange video feed directly from the property.
They also examined services offering a military-style speedboat for the evacuation from New York City, and Maritime routes to Venezuela, Iranian allies.
“I said to myself that for years the government tried to create fear in the community, try to scare us,” Alinejad told the BBC World TV on Wednesday.
“But this is a truly time the Iranian government, all Iranian intelligence services are afraid of me.”
Intelligence officials worked to get supervision of four targeted people in Canada and England, according to charges.
MS Alinejad, 44, is a leading figure on social media and organizes programs on US-funded satellite TV channels, Persian American voices.
He runs the Freedom and White White My Stealthy campaign against obligatory headscarves for Iranian women.
Overcoming the charges on TV on Tuesday, he said: “At first, I was naturally surprised. Then I was worried … Then I thought about it: we have been afraid of the Islamic regime for life. But now the Islamic regime is afraid of me.”
Dakwaan said Iranian officials were assisted by Iranian California residents, Niloufar Bahadorifar.
He was arrested this month and was charged with providing financial assistance to the conspirator and violating sanctions against Iran. He claimed innocent.
William Sweeney, Head of the New York FBI office, said it sounded a bit like “a few remote film plots”.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Wednesday that “Hollywood scenarios” were “unexpectedly from America”.
In 2019, Dissured journalist based in Paris Ruhollah Zam was attracted by an Iranian agent to travel to Iraq, where he was kidnapped and brought to Iran. He was executed last year after being punished for charges.
