An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that accusations by U.S. authorities that Iran is plotting to kidnap Iranians abroad who criticize the country are �baseless and ridiculous.�

The spokesperson, Saeed Khatibzadeh, was quoted by Iran�s semiofficial ISNA news agency a day after U.S. federal authorities in New York announced criminal charges against four Iranian intelligence operatives.

The authorities, quoting from an indictment, say the individuals plotted to kidnap a prominent Iranian opposition activist and writer in exile from her Brooklyn residence and take her to Tehran.

Khatibzadeh derided the plot as �Hollywood-style scenarios� and �baseless and ridiculous� accusations unworthy of a response.

�Making such an imaginary story is not unlikely by the U.S. Its entire short history is full of assassination, kidnapping and sabotage in other countries,� Khatibzadeh said.

Later Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a briefing that Iran�s �actions to attempt to silence the voices of those peacefully working to address the situation both inside of Iran and outside of Iran are appalling.�

�We categorically condemn Iran�s dangerous and despicable reported plot to kidnap a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil,� she said.

She said law enforcement actions like those announced Tuesday were part of a strategy to defend U.S. citizens and interests that includes actions taken to defend U.S. forces from Iranian-backed militant groups and diplomatic efforts to constrain Iran�s nuclear program.

The indictment in Manhattan federal court described the plot as part of a wider plan to lure three individuals in Canada and a fifth person in the United Kingdom, along with individuals in the United Arab Emirates, to Iran.

The identities of the alleged victims were not released but Brooklyn-based Masih Alinejad confirmed that authorities had told her she was among the targets.

�I knew that this is the nature of the Islamic Republic, you know, kidnapping people, arresting people, torturing people, killing people. But I couldn�t believe it that this is going to happen to me in United States of America,� Alinejad told The Associated Press.

Alinejad, who worked for years as a journalist in Iran, long has been targeted by its theocracy after fleeing the country following its disputed 2009 presidential election and crackdown.

She is a prominent figure on Farsi-language satellite channels abroad that critically view Iran and has worked as a contractor for U.S.-funded Voice of America�s Farsi-language network since 2015. She became a U.S. citizen in October 2019.

(AP)