Man accused of plotting murder of Trump’s advisor John Bolton

• The US has charged an Iranian man with plotting to assassinate John Bolton.
• Shahram Poursafi, member of Iran’s IRG, wanted in connection with alleged plot.
• Allegedly seeking revenge for US strike that killed military commander Qasem Soleimani.

The US has charged an Iranian man with plotting to assassinate former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton.

According to US officials, Shahram Poursafi, a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRG), was in Iran and wanted in connection with the alleged plot.

According to them, Mr Poursafi was likely seeking retaliation for the US strike that killed Iran’s most powerful military commander, Qasem Soleimani.

Soleimani was in charge of Iran’s military operations in the Middle East.

The 62-year-old was the commander of the IRG’s elite Quds Force. He was killed in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq in January 2020.

According to an Iranian government spokesperson, the allegations are “baseless.”

The US Department of Justice stated in its announcement of the charges that Mr Poursafi, aka Mehdi Rezayi, 45, of Tehran, had “attempted to pay individuals in the United States $300,000 (£245,000) to carry out the murder in Washington DC or Maryland”.

The charges describe how the Iranian operative asked a US resident he met online to photograph Mr. Bolton for a book he was writing. The unnamed resident then introduced Mr Poursafi to another person, who was later asked to murder Mr Bolton and provide video evidence of the crime.

Mr. Bolton thanked the FBI and the Justice Department in a statement.

“The justice department has the solemn duty to defend our citizens from hostile governments who seek to hurt or kill them,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen.

“This is not the first time we have uncovered Iranian plots to exact revenge against individuals on US soil and we will work tirelessly to expose and disrupt every one of these efforts.”

Soleimani was widely regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran at the time of his death, after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported directly to the ayatollah, and Soleimani was celebrated as a national hero.

However, the US considers the Quds Force to be terrorists and holds them accountable for the deaths of hundreds of US personnel.

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