US Offers $20M Bounty for Iranian Linked to Bolton Assassination Plot

Shahram Poursafi, a 45-year-old Iranian man, is accused of attempting to orchestrate the assassination of John Bolton, a former national security adviser to President Trump, between October 2021 and April 2022. Allegedly acting on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, Poursafi sought to hire individuals in the U.S. for the murder in exchange for $300,000. The plot is believed to be in retaliation for the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. The U.S. State Department has announced a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to Poursafi's arrest. He allegedly provided resources and support to facilitate the murder-for-hire scheme and communicated with a potential assassin, who later became a confidential informant for U.S. investigators. Poursafi's communications included instructions for the assassination and a request for proof of the act. In June 2023, Poursafi was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department, which blocks any of his property under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in business with him. If convicted, he faces significant prison time and fines, but he remains at large, believed to be outside the U.S. The announcement of the reward coincides with heightened concerns regarding Iranian threats against U.S. officials, including Trump, who has been briefed on specific threats to his life. The Iranian government has denied involvement in assassination plots against U.S. officials, despite ongoing tensions between the two nations.