Why is Iran so Scared of a Woman with Big Hair? Because She Lives in America

For months, they conducted surveillance while weighing their options. They watched her outside her Brooklyn home, taking photos and videos as she puttered around the yard or gardened. As weeks passed, the plan became more concrete: Once they kidnapped her, she’d be put on a speedboat bound for Caracas, Venezuela. From there, it would be easy to get her back to Iran, where she’d no doubt be tried, prosecuted and hanged.

The only problem? The Federal Bureau of Investigation was on to them.

Those who follow news related to America and the Middle East are still reeling from an indictment unsealed by the Justice Department this week alleging that two Iranian intelligence operatives were planning to kidnap prominent Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad on American soil.

Alinejad, who has lived in self-imposed exile in New York since 2014, is public enemy number one, as far as Tehran is concerned. And she has two secret weapons for fighting the regime: social media and—her hair.

In fact, The New York Post once referred to Alinejad as “the woman whose hair frightens Iran.” And with good reason: Her wildly popular viral campaigns encourage Iranian women to shed their mandatory hijab (Islamic headscarf) and post videos in which they’re harassed by local officials. She also posts videos ranging from anti-government protests throughout Iran to police arresting boys and girls for skating (yes, skating) on the street. My favorite recent video posted by Alinejad shows her entering the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington D.C. to vote in the recent (though fraudulent) Iranian elections. She unabashedly uses her cell phone to film as security guards and officials scramble to deal with the hijab-less tour de force who has just entered the premises.

In fact, The New York Post once referred to Alinejad as “the woman whose hair frightens Iran.”

On Instagram, Alinejad has five million followers; on Facebook, one of her most famous campaigns (which is also a non-governmental organization, or NGO), “My Stealthy Freedom,” reaches over one million people.

Alinejad, who’s the author of “The Wind Beneath my Hair,” also reaches hundreds of thousands of Persian-language speakers as a host and commentator for Voice of America Persian News Network. She manages a lethal combination of political commentary and stinging humor that has left the mullahs yearning to get their hands on her for over a decade.

But she’s not the first Iranian dissident to be targeted abroad. In 2009, the regime tried to kill Jamshid Sharmahd, an anti-regime, Iranian-German activist, on American soil (in California). The attempt failed. But in 2020, operatives abducted him while he was traveling in Dubai and brought him back to Iran. He’s currently in detention while facing the death penalty.

In 2019, regime operatives tricked journalist Ruhollah Ram into leaving France for what he thought would be a brief trip to Iraq. He was kidnapped and taken back to Iran, where he was executed in 2020. Ram left behind a wife and two children.

By now, Iranian activists expect nothing less from the regime. And naturally, many commentators in America, whether on the left or the right, have had a lot to say this week about the unveiled plot to kidnap Alinejad: it reminds us that we can’t ignore the dangerous reach of Iran’s tentacles abroad, even here, in the United States; it reaffirms the nefarious bond between Iran and other dictatorships, such as Venezuela; and it offers self-evident proof for the need for a robust American intelligence apparatus at home.

But here’s my biggest takeaway from this unbelievable story: It’s a reminder of America’s irrefutable greatness and compassion.

But here’s my biggest takeaway from this unbelievable story: It’s a reminder of America’s irrefutable greatness and compassion.

Don’t believe me? Here’s what Alinejad herself said yesterday on a VOA Persian broadcast regarding the indictment:

“When the FBI came to my home eight months ago to tell me that my safety had been compromised, I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t safe on American soil. I jokingly responded that I’m used to receiving daily death threats. I still get threats that say, ‘We’ll kill you; we’ll throw acid on your face; we follow you everywhere.” So I joked with the FBI. But they firmly told me, ‘Look, these are the photos and videos of you that they [the operatives] took.’ I couldn’t believe that they had taken videos of me while I was going about my daily life. They’d taken pictures of me, my husband, and his children. Initially, I felt shocked. Then, I was worried, like anyone else would be. My stomach was on the floor. But then I thought about it: I’ve been afraid of the regime for a lifetime; now, the regime is afraid of me. So afraid that they’ve sent agents to Brooklyn to spy on my life. And they did see my life. What was I up to? I was in my garden, planting flowers. Then I re-entered my home to interview mothers whose children were killed by the regime; to interview women who said they don’t want this authoritarian government anymore. This was enough to scare the regime. This is what the FBI told me: that the regime not only wanted to make sure that I didn’t exist physically anymore, but they also wanted to destroy my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp channels. So the FBI took control of it all. When the FBI came to my house, I sat down with 12 agents. I jokingly told them that whenever the police in Iran gathered, especially around women, but also around most Iranians, we would think they would torture, interrogate, or execute us. I couldn’t believe that all these policemen wanted to protect me. I wish the French police did the same thing to protect Ruhollah Zam. That’s the only thing I told the FBI at that moment. Because they told me I didn’t have the permission to leave the U.S., for safety concerns. I wish someone had told Ruhollah Zam that he didn’t have permission to leave for Iraq.”

She’s right, of course.

America saved Alinejad’s life twice; first, by allowing her entry and citizenship to the U.S. And now, by thwarting a kidnapping attempt on her life.

But the U.S. still owes her (not to mention the millions of Iranians in the diaspora and 82 million people in Iran) something else: a strong backbone against negotiating with genocidal fanatics.

“I know the administration is keen to conclude a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic,” Alinejad said in a statement yesterday, “but we cannot ignore the regime’s abysmal human rights record and its criminal behavior. As an Iranian-American, I look to the Biden Administration to protect me as a U.S. citizen. I expect President Biden to care about human rights in the Middle East, especially in Iran, and to hold the Islamic Republic responsible for its actions.”

Thwarting a kidnapping plot is one thing. But not emboldening tyrants and assassins? That will take even greater American effort, strength and leadership.

Tabby Refael is a Los Angeles-based writer, speaker and civic action activist. Follow her on Twitter @RefaelTabby