The U.S. is offering a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian accused of plotting to assassinate John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor.
Poursafi, a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is alleged to have attempted to hire U.S. criminals to kill Bolton for $300,000 between October 2021 and April 2022.
This plot is reportedly in retaliation for the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020, an action ordered by Trump while in office.
Poursafi reportedly communicated with a confidential U.S. source, outlining that after Bolton’s assassination, there would be a second job.
Despite being charged in 2022 by the U.S. Department of Justice, Poursafi remains at large and is not believed to be in the U.S.
Iran has denied orchestrating any assassination plots, with Vice-President Mohammad Javad Zarif asserting that “we do not assassinate people,” but highlighted Soleimani’s killing as a significant event.
Bolton, responding to the threat, urged the U.S. to be more “proactive” against Iranian threats, calling such attacks on government officials an assault on the U.S. itself.
In a related development, Trump has claimed that U.S. intelligence briefed him on Iranian plots to kill him. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed the briefing but avoided discussing details.
Trump also posted on social media about “big threats” on his life by Iran, though no evidence links Iran to two recent assassination attempts on him.
Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Iranian hackers of attempting to steal and distribute information from Trump’s electoral campaign, allegedly aiming to destabilize the U.S. ahead of upcoming elections.
Source-BBC
