U.S. sanctions Iranians over alleged plot to kidnap NY-based journalist

FILE PHOTO: Iranian American journalist Alinejad Masih shows an FBI car guarding outside her apartment in this still image from an undated social media video posted on July 14, 2021. Twitter/@ALINEJADMASIH via REUTERS/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has sanctioned four Iranian intelligence operatives behind a failed plot to kidnap a U.S. journalist and human rights activist, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday.

The sanctions come after U.S. prosecutors in July charged the four with plotting to kidnap the New York-based journalist who was critical of Tehran. Reuters previously confirmed he was Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad.