Inside Iran's plot to kidnap an American journalist

FILE PHOTO: Masih Alinejad, 37, Iranian journalist, poses for a portrait in London October 8, 2013. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The image on the alleged Iranian intelligence operative's device was chilling: A graphic showing photos of two Iranian dissidents captured overseas. Next to them was a picture of a journalist U.S. prosecutors say he intended to kidnap and the caption "are you coming or should we come for you?"

The intended target was Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad, a contributor to U.S. government-financed Voice of America’s Farsi edition, who had angered Iran through her pointed criticism of the country’s headcovering laws, according to U.S. prosecutors.