The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national allegedly involved in a murder-for-hire plot targeting former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Shahram Poursafi, also designated as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the U.S. Treasury Department, is accused of attempting to hire individuals within the United States to assassinate Bolton between October 2021 and April 2022. According to the Department of Justice, Poursafi offered $300,000 for the assassination, instructing a potential assassin—who turned out to be a confidential source for U.S. investigators—to carry out the attack in Washington, D.C., or Maryland.
Poursafi is believed to be acting on behalf of the IRGC’s Quds Force, a unit responsible for Iran’s extraterritorial operations. The plot also reportedly included a second target, with Poursafi allegedly telling the source that another assassination would follow, offering $1 million for the subsequent job. These plans prompted the U.S. government to intensify security for other potential targets and issue public warnings about the potential threat.
The reward announcement follows reports that former President Donald Trump had been briefed about “real and specific” Iranian threats to his life. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the Biden administration is “tracking very intensely” ongoing threats from Iran against several current and former U.S. officials, including Trump.
The alleged plot against Bolton is seen as part of Iran’s effort to retaliate for the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed IRGC General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iraq. Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, was a vocal supporter of the Trump administration’s decision to target Soleimani. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif denied accusations of Iran’s involvement in overseas assassination attempts, stating in an interview that Iran does not assassinate people but noted that the U.S. had killed a “revered Iranian general,” referring to Soleimani.
In August 2022, a criminal complaint against Poursafi was unsealed by the Justice Department, charging him with using “interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire” and “providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot.” If convicted, Poursafi faces up to 25 years in prison. However, he remains at large, and it is believed that he is still operating from Iran.
Expanded Coverage:
