Associated Press: FBI Tackles Threats from Iran and China Against Their Opponents in the U.S.

U.S. prosecutors say existing evidence shows that the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran are actively seeking their opponents in the United States, intimidating, harassing, and sometimes planning attacks against them. The Associated Press reported that after one of the leaders of the Tiananmen Square student protests entered the congressional elections in 2023, Chinese intelligence agents hired a private investigator to find potential moral or financial issues to affect his candidacy. The report also referenced threats from the Islamic Republic against Masih Alinejad, a journalist and women's rights activist in the U.S., stating that while she criticized human rights violations in Iran, Iranian intelligence agents monitored her from Iran and hired members of a criminal gang to plot her murder while surveilling her home in Brooklyn, New York; a plot that was thwarted. According to the Associated Press, these examples clearly indicate that these governments, which have historically shown no tolerance for dissent, are increasingly monitoring those who oppose them thousands of kilometers away from their borders. Masih Alinejad stated, 'We do not live in fear or paranoia, but the reality is that the Islamic Republic is after us, and we must be careful.' FBI officials told the Associated Press that 'transnational repression' tactics—including hiring proxies such as private investigators and organized crime groups—have become more sophisticated, and the boundaries of harassment have expanded as these governments seek to assert power beyond their borders. The U.S. Department of Justice says that dozens of suspects involved in 'transnational repression' have been arrested in the past five years. Officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity stated that several countries, not necessarily aligned with traditional U.S. opponents, have prioritized funding campaigns to intimidate their opponents in the U.S. and other Western countries through their intelligence services. The report cites an interrupted plot to kill a Sikh activist in New York by an Indian government official, the kidnapping of a Rwandan dissident from Texas, and online and in-person harassment of Saudi critics in the U.S. Matthew Olson, Assistant Attorney General and senior national security official at the Justice Department, stated that combating these actions—both in terms of countering harassers and sending the message that such actions are unacceptable from the perspective of U.S. sovereignty and values surrounding free speech and assembly—is a significant priority for America. Other countries have also witnessed an increase in such incidents. The UK anti-terrorism police are currently investigating an attack on an Iranian television presenter in London that occurred about a month ago. The UK and other parts of Europe are also reporting harassment and attacks against Russian journalists and activists. However, within the United States, due to the deterioration of relations with Iran and ongoing tensions with China on various issues, the actions of these two countries are more concerning. Additionally, U.S. intelligence officials are worried about the misuse of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence for future harassment. Olson stated, 'Transnational repression is a manifestation of a broader conflict between authoritarian regimes and democratic countries.' A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington stated, '[The Chinese government] fully adheres to international laws and respects the rule of law in other countries.' However, U.S. officials say that China has launched 'Operation Fox Hunt' specifically to track down Chinese immigrants wanted by Beijing and threaten them. For example, according to a 2020 case in the Justice Department, a former Chinese city official now living in New Jersey found a note in Chinese on his front door stating, 'If you return to your homeland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be safe. This is a final warning!' Bob Fu, a Chinese-American Christian pastor, stated that for a long time, a large crowd of protesters gathered outside his home in West Texas and engaged in systematic actions that he believes could be linked to the Chinese government. He mentioned actions such as fake hotel reservations in his name, fake bomb threats from his organization, and distributing brochures among neighbors depicting him as a devil. He leads an organization called 'China Aid' to defend religious freedoms in China and says he has learned to take precautions: he moved from his home at the insistence of the police and asked his staff to announce their travel plans in advance. He knows that a return ticket to China would be a one-way ticket for him. Wu Jianmin, a former student leader of the pro-democracy movement in China in 1989, was harassed outside his home in Irvine, California, for over two months in 2020. He believes that the agents behind this systematic harassment are retired members of the Communist Party and their children in the U.S., as well as members of Chinese associations or defectors with close ties to the Chinese government. Other cases have also been reported, such as using social media to target Chinese dissidents in the U.S. or attempts to steal personal information from dissidents. However, 'national repression' actions are not limited to harassment. In 2021, U.S. prosecutors charged an Iranian individual who intended to 'eliminate' John Bolton, Trump’s national security advisor, in exchange for $300,000 as retaliation for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. This year, another threat was revealed by Iranian security officials in which an Iranian and two Canadians linked to the 'Hell's Angels' motorcycle gang planned the murder of two Iranian defectors living in Maryland. One of the arrested Canadians in this case stated, 'We wanted to behead him.' In 2020, the U.S. charged an Iranian group that, at the behest of Iranian intelligence, intended to kidnap Masih Alinejad, the Iranian journalist and activist. Further investigations revealed details of the kidnapping—including how they lured her out of her home, extracted her from New York using a military speedboat, and took her to Venezuela. In this case, one of the suspects was arrested while driving around Alinejad’s home in Brooklyn, New York, with a loaded gun and ammunition. Another suspect was extradited from the Czech Republic to the U.S. last February, and two others have also been arrested in this case. Despite thwarting this plot, the FBI asked Alinejad to relocate. This relocation meant for Masih Alinejad leaving her cherished garden; a garden whose produce she shared with her neighbors. Masih Alinejad stated, 'They did not kill me physically, but they killed my relationship with my garden and my neighbors.'