It was a mission that should have been swift and silent. Instead, it played out like a comedy of errors - except the stakes were deadly serious.
It was July 2022 when 27-year-old Khalid Mehdiyev, a self-proclaimed member of the Russian mob, set off on a mission to assassinate Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad. Hired for $30,000, he was meant to carry out a hit on behalf of his Azerbaijani associates - who, according to prosecutors, had been commissioned by Iran's government for $500,000.
But instead of executing a clean hit, Mehdiyev stumbled his way into federal custody, undone by a series of amateur blunders that could have been ripped straight from a dark comedy screenplay.
Cosying Up To His Target - Poorly
Mehdiyev arrived outside Ms Alinejad's home in his Subaru Forester with Illinois plates on July 27, 2022. He spent the next two days parked outside, watching, waiting. But instead of staying inconspicuous, he made one baffling mistake after another. He texted Ms Alinejad, trying to befriend her with poorly written messages.
"U the best journalist," he wrote in one.
"Hey. How are you. I wanna make immigrants paper, do u can help for that?" he followed up, referencing her work helping asylum seekers.
But Mehdiyev wasn't looking for legal aid.
"I was trying to get into her life," he later admitted in court. "I was trying to get the easy way to kill her."
Sloppy Stakeout
His plan was anything but professional. He stepped out of his car frequently, wandered around the house, peered through Ms Alinejad's windows, and even jiggled her front door handle. As if that wasn't enough to raise suspicions, he ordered food - to his own stakeout location.
Ms Alinejad, ever watchful, sensed something was off. She reported him to the FBI.
The Wrong Turn That Ended It All
The next day, Mehdiyev was still parked outside the journalist's home. But in his final blunder, he ran a stop sign just as police were nearby. That simple traffic violation led police to pull him over just outside Ms Alinejad's home.
Officers discovered he was driving without a licence, and decided to search the vehicle.
What they found was alarming.
In the backseat of his SUV, hidden inside a suitcase, was an AK-47 with its serial number scratched off. A ski mask lay nearby - proof that the so-called hitman was prepared for more than just surveillance.
Confession
When questioned, Mehdiyev scrambled for an excuse. He claimed he was looking for a place to rent and had only approached the house to inquire about a room - only to change his mind.
As for the assault rifle, he shrugged it off, saying it had been in the car when he borrowed it earlier that day.
None of it added up.
Arrested And Threatened
He was arrested and his bosses weren't pleased with his failure. Behind bars, Mehdiyev managed to get hold of a contraband phone and called his handler, Polad Omarov.
"Where the f**k you at? How the f**k are you in jail? You were at the journalist's house!" Omarov raged.
Then came the chilling threat - Omarov vowed to kill Mehdiyev's entire family.
"I Was There To Kill..."
After his arrest, Mehdiyev came clean in court: "I was there to try to kill the journalist." He also revealed that he had been paid $30,000 for the job and had initially considered setting fire to her house instead. But he was adamant. "We have to kill her."
The mask? "To cover my face when I was going to kill the journalist."
His testimony came during the second day of proceedings against Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, two fellow Azerbaijani nationals who allegedly hired him. The trio were part of the same gang, and prosecutors argued that the Iranian government had enlisted them to carry out the assassination.
Federal prosecutor Jacob Gutwillig said, "The defendants were hired guns for the government of Iran. Masih Alinejad was almost gunned down on the streets of New York City by a hitman sent by the defendants."
Amirov and Omarov have pleaded not guilty. Their lawyer, Michael Martin, dismissed the prosecution's case as circumstantial, built on "the testimony of a murderer and a liar."
Masih Alinejad, a vocal critic of Iran's regime, had already survived multiple attempts on her life.
