FBI foils Iranian kidnapping plot
Outgoing reformist Iranian President Mohammad Khatami talks on the phone with the mother of female journalist Masih Alinejad, right, after meeting with journalists in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2005. Prosecutors in the US alleged July 13, 2021, that Iran planned to kidnap Alinejad, famous for her campaign against the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, for women. Iran did not immediately comment on the allegation July 14, 2021.
Iranian intelligence agents plotted an abduction on US soil. The alleged target: Iranian American author and journalist Masih Alinejad, a harsh critic of the Iranian government. Also, this week marks five years since a faction of Turkey’s military attempted a coup that left more than 250 dead. The country issued a state of emergency and has prosecuted thousands of people since then. And, we celebrate Bastille Day with a controversial 1979 reggae version of the French national anthem: Serge Gainsbourg’s “Aux Armes Etcetera,” recorded in Kingston, Jamaica.
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