The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to the arrest of an Iranian man charged with plotting to assassinate John Bolton, a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump.
Shahram Poursafi, 45, from Tehran, is believed to be working on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF)—a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization—to arrange a murder-for-hire scheme against Bolton, according to a State Department statement.
A criminal complaint by the Justice Department in August 2022 said the alleged plot was likely in retaliation for the death of IRGC-QF commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in January 2020.
Poursafi allegedly tried to hire “criminal elements” within the United States to kill Bolton in Washington or Maryland between October 2021 to April 2022 in exchange for $300,000, the department stated.
He allegedly provided material support and resources to facilitate the attempted murder and told the potential assassin that there would be a “second assassination job” for him after Bolton’s murder was completed.
The potential assassin later became a confidential source for U.S. investigators, the department said.
Poursafi allegedly asked a U.S. resident identified only as “Individual A” to take photographs of Bolton, claiming that the photos were needed for a book he was writing, according to the criminal complaint. The U.S. resident then introduced Poursafi to a covert government informant who could take the photographs for a price.
Investigators said Poursafi contacted the informant on an encrypted messaging application in November 2021 and offered the person $250,000 to hire someone to “eliminate” Bolton, an amount that would later be negotiated up to $300,000.
Poursafi later directed the informant to open a cryptocurrency account to facilitate the payment. In subsequent communications, he allegedly told the informant it did not matter how the killing was carried out, but that his group would require a video as proof that the deed was done.
When the informant asked about the potential repercussions of the killing being attributed to Iran, Poursafi allegedly told the informant not to worry and that his group would take care of it.
Poursafi, also known as Mehdi Rezayi, was designated a “specially designated global terrorist” by the U.S. government for his alleged involvement in the plot, according to the State Department.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Bolton for comment.
Trump Briefed on Iranian Threats
The State Department announcement came just two days after Trump’s campaign said the Republican presidential candidate had been briefed by U.S. intelligence about “real and specific” Iranian threats to his life.
In a Sept. 24 statement, the Trump campaign stated that U.S. intelligence officials have identified that “these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months.”
His campaign added that law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure Trump’s safety and to keep the election “free from interference.”
An official from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied on Thursday allegations that Tehran was involved in plots to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate.
Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during his Pennsylvania rally in July when he was shot in the ear. Authorities fatally shot the gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Pennsylvania.
A second apparent assassination attempt occurred at Trump’s golf club in Florida on Sept. 15. Police arrested Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man from Hawaii, in connection with the incident.
Reuters contributed to this report.
