January 22, 2025: Prosecutors in New York City accused a leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, and three of his followers of trying to organize an assassination of a government critic in 2022. The target of this plot had actively opposed Iranian officials' harsh treatment of women. IRGC officials had contacted members of an East European criminal organization to kill the critic. These criminals often carry out assignments like this for the IRGC and were paid for their work even when the scheme failed.

Ruhollah Bazghandi, a general in the IRGC who remained in Iran, was in charge of this operation. The designated victim, Masih Alinejad, lived in Brooklyn at the time the IRGC planned to kidnap her and get her to Venezuela, which is currently an ally of Iran and willing to help carry out operations like this. Once in Venezuela, Masih Alinejad would be flown to Iran for a public trial and conviction that would put her in prison as a warning to others thinking of openly criticizing the Iranian government and the IRGC that does the government’s dirty work.

This was one of several failed IRGC schemes to kill or kidnap Masih Alinejad. Iran didn’t care because even failed plots were publicized in the west and that intimidated other actual or potential critics of the Iranian religious dictatorship. For example the IRGC was accused of hiring criminal operatives in the United States to follow and photograph critics of Iran. In one case the surveillance included installing a remotely controlled video camera that monitored the victim’s home. When this video surveillance was reported in the western media it frightened Iranians in foreign countries who were openly critical of the IRGC or planning to speak out. That takes a lot of courage because for decades the IRGC has been assassinating critics in Europe, using local gangsters to do it.

Western intelligence agencies have recordings of IRGC discussions with criminal organizations to murder or kidnap critics for a price. Since Iran has been an outlaw state since the 1980s, American and European criticism has little impact. The gangsters Iran hires to kidnap and kill critics are paid well and know it is risky business.

Venezuela was one of the first countries to recognize the new Iranian government formed after the monarchy was overthrown in 1979. That recognition evolved into cooperation with Iran on economic and criminal matters. Venezuela is recognized as the Iranian outpost in the Western Hemisphere. For example, in 2012 Iran obtained an American F-16 fighter from Venezuela. The mercurial and anti-American president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, had been threatening to sell some of his F-16s to Iran. Finally sending one to Iran was apparently an effort to help Iran prepare its defenses against an air raid by Israeli F-16Is. This Venezuelan gesture is not likely to help much as the Venezuelan F-16s are much older models while the current Israeli F-16s were the most modern model then available.

The Venezuelan F-16s were received in 1983 and 1984. They are F-16A/B Block 15. F-16s currently in service with the US Air Force are F-16C/D Block 50s, with the even more advanced F-16E/F Block 60 being built for the UAE. The Venezuelan F-16s in question are over 25 years old. For the F-16, that is very old indeed. These aircraft are not equipped with the latest radars, air-to-air missiles, or jammers. And, in the 13 years since Chavez took power, they have not been getting much in the way of maintenance thanks to the freeze in relations with the United States. Upsetting the country which makes the spare parts for your combat aircraft is not a good idea.

Despite the F-16 fiasco, Venezuela remains the primary Iranian outpost in the Western Hemisphere.