Share
An Iranian operative has been charged in a plot to murder former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton in presumed retaliation for a U.S. airstrike that killed the country’s most powerful general, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to “eliminate” him, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Shahram Poursafi, identified by U.S. officials as a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, is currently wanted by the FBI on charges related to the murder-for-hire plot.
Prosecutors say the scheme started more than a year after Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard force and an architect of Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East, was killed in a targeted airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport in January 2020. After the strike, Bolton, who by then had left his White House post, tweeted, “Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran.”
Poursafi, 45, offered $250,000 to people in Maryland and the District of Columbia to carry out the killing, including providing a work address, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed in federal court in Washington.
In a statement, Bolton thanked the FBI and Justice Department for their work in developing the case.
“While much cannot be said publicly right now, one point is indisputable: Iran’s rulers are liars, terrorists, and enemies of the United States,” he said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department’s top national security official, said it was “not the first time we have uncovered Iranian plots to exact revenge against individuals on U.S. soil and we will work tirelessly to expose and disrupt every one of these efforts.”
The unsealing of the complaint comes two days after negotiators seeking to revive the Iran nuclear accord in Vienna closed on a “final text” of an agreement, with parties now consulting in their capitals on whether to agree to it it.
The 2015 deal granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for tight curbs on its atomic program. Since the U.S. withdrew from the agreement under President Donald Trump, Iran has sped up its nuclear enrichment program. Bolton has been among the most hawkish critics of the deal and efforts by the Biden administration to rejoin it.
RELATED TOPICS:
Almost Half of Gazans Willing to Leave, Survey Finds
2 hours ago
Texas Governor Greg Abbott Threatens Texas City Over Pro-Palestinian Resolution
2 hours ago
Ravens Release Justin Tucker After Accusations by Massage Therapists of Inappropriate Behavior
3 hours ago
Carney Meets Trump in Bid to Reset Strained Canada-US Relations
3 hours ago
Draymond Green’s Vow to Keep His Cool Helps Warriors Advance to in West Semis
3 hours ago
Ian Happ Homers as the Cubs Beat the Sloppy Giants
3 hours ago
Ohtani and Freeman Homer off Alcántara as Dodgers Beat Marlins
3 hours ago
Israel Hits Yemen’s Main Airport in Airstrike Against Houthis
4 hours ago
Can Steve Brandau Help Rescue the Fresno County Transportation Tax Renewal?
4 minutes ago
Categories

Can Steve Brandau Help Rescue the Fresno County Transportation Tax Renewal?

US Supreme Court Lets Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Take Effect

Almost Half of Gazans Willing to Leave, Survey Finds

Texas Governor Greg Abbott Threatens Texas City Over Pro-Palestinian Resolution

Ravens Release Justin Tucker After Accusations by Massage Therapists of Inappropriate Behavior
