U.S. senators seek sanctions on Iran over alleged plot to kidnap journalist

FILE PHOTO: Masih Alinejad, Iranian journalist and women's rights activist, speaks on stage at the Women In The World Summit in New York, U.S, April 12, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. senators announced legislation on Thursday that would impose sanctions over an alleged plot by Iranian intelligence agents to kidnap Iranian-born U.S. journalist Masih Alinejad.

Democrat Ben Cardin and Republican Pat Toomey said their legislation would seek to hold Iran accountable for the plot and prevent any further attempted kidnappings on U.S. soil by imposing mandatory sanctions on those involved and authorizing secondary sanctions on banks doing business with them.