Prosecutors say a Revolutionary Guard brigadier general named Ruhollah Bazghandi began monitoring Alinejad in July 2021. They say Bazghandi later hired Amirov, an alleged Russian mob leader living in Iran at the time, to kill her. Omarov and Mehdiyev are also part of the mob, prosecutors said.
Bazghandi was also charged, but is not in U.S. custody.
Mehdiyev, 26, pleaded not guilty to murder-for-hire charges in February 2023, but the status of his case is unclear. Prison records show he was released from U.S. custody on May 19, 2023.
Neither a Justice Department spokesperson nor a lawyer for Mehdiyev responded to requests for comment.