US Offers Large Reward for Information on IRGC-QF Member Charged with Plotting Assassination of John Bolton
Attorney General Merrick Garland warned the Iranians were “brazen about this and they are persistent,” adding, “I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Iranian plotting.”
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) –The U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) Program announced on Thursday that it was offering up to $20 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Shahram Poursafi, a member of the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC-QF), who was earlier charged with trying to arrange the assassination of former U.S. National Security Adviser, Amb. John Bolton.
The announcement followed a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on the news program, “NBC Today,” confirmed a claim by Donald Trump’s campaign that they had been informed by U.S. intelligence officials that Iran was trying to assassinate the former president.
According to a statement from Trump’s campaign, he \was briefed on Tuesday “by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.”
Indeed, earlier this month a Pakistani, Asif Merchant, who traveled to New York and then to Texas, was charged with attempted murder. Reportedly, Merchant’s target was Donald Trump.
In announcing Merchant’s indictment, Attorney General Merrick Garland warned that the Iranians were “brazen about this and they are persistent,” adding, “I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Iranian plotting.”
Asked on Wednesday about Iranian plots against Trump, Blinken replied, “This is something we’ve been tracking very intensely for a long time—an ongoing threat by Iran against a number of senior officials, including former government officials like President Trump, and some people who are currently serving the administration.”
However, Blinken declined to provide any further detail, and it is unclear why the announcement of the large bounty for information regarding Poursafi was made now.
It may well be linked to Garland’s comment about Iranian persistence, which, in turn, may relate to Blinken’s suggestion that there are a significant number of Iranian-backed plots against U.S. officials.
Indeed, the language of the RFJ Program’s announcement seemed to suggest that Poursafi’s plot against Bolton is ongoing.
Background to Announcement of $20 Million Reward
The Justice Department first charged Poursafi with involvement in a plot to assassinate Bolton in August 2022. There was also a secondary plot to assassinate Mike Pompeo, who was Bolton’s contemporary as Secretary of State under Donald Trump.
Both plots were said to be Iranian efforts at revenge for the U.S. assassination of the head of the IRGC-QF, Qasim Soleimani, in January 2020.
Read More: Iran plotted to assassinate Bolton, Pompeo
In separate plotting, by different individuals, Tehran also tried to assassinate an Iranian dissident in New York, Masih Alinejad, a journalist who worked for the Voice of America’s Persian Service and Radio Farda.
Iran made one attempt against her in 2021, and a second attempt followed in 2022.
Read More: US: Iran behind Azeri criminal gang that plotted assassination of dissident in New York
Poursafi’s Plot Against Bolton
“Poursafi is a uniformed member” of the IRGC ”who is believed to be working on behalf” of the IRGC-QF “to arrange the transnational murder-for-hire plot of former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton,” the RFJ statement said.
“From October 2021 to April 2022, Iran-based Poursafi, using encrypted, internet-based messaging applications, attempted to hire criminal elements within the United States to murder Bolton in Washington D.C. or Maryland in exchange for $300,000,” it continued.
“Poursafi told the assumed assassin—who actually became a confidential source for U.S. investigators—that once he completed the Bolton murder, he would have a second assassination job for him,” it added.
Finally, it should be noted that Bolton has been a long-time friend of the Kurds, so they have a particular interest in this.
Read More: John Bolton: US must continue support for Kurds, keep strong presence in region
