Iran-linked plots result in death sentence and US prison term
An Iranian court sentenced Gholamreza Khani Shekarab to death after state media said he acted as a senior coordinator for a Mossad‑linked sabotage network operating inside Iran. Authorities claimed the network carried out sabotage, spread fear, disrupted public services and plotted assassinations across several provinces. The verdict was based on evidence, documentation and confessions presented at a public hearing.
In the United States, a federal jury sentenced New York resident Jonathan Loadholt to ten years in prison for conspiring to murder journalist and Iran‑critic Masih Alinejad. Prosecutors said Loadholt was recruited by an associate linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, received cash payments, and used encrypted communications to surveil Alinejad ahead of a planned killing. The plot was part of a broader Iran‑directed effort that also involved a co‑defendant who received a separate fifteen‑year sentence.