A key witness took the stand on Tuesday in the trial of two alleged hitmen accused of trying to kill Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad in New York City, at the behest of Iran. The witness, Khalid Mehdiyev, who is alleged to have been part of the failed assassination plot, is cooperating with prosecutors. But it remains to be seen if his testimony is enough to prove their case. 

“I was there trying to kill the journalist,” Mr. Mehdiyev testified on Tuesday inside a Manhattan federal courtroom. The target he was referring to is Masih Alinejad, an Iran-born American, who is a prominent journalist and fierce critic of Iran’s government. From the stand, Mr. Mehdiyev described the day law enforcement arrested him near Ms. Alinejad’s home in Brooklyn in July 2022 and found a loaded machine gun in his car.