Iran probably forged an assassination plan against ex-Trump adviser Bolton - Tehran denies allegations
Created: 08/13/2022, 19:48
By: Linus Prien
Former Trump adviser John Bolton.
(Archive image) © IMAGO/Michael Brochstein
A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has allegedly planned an assassination attempt on former Trump adviser John Bolton.
Iran denies the allegations.
Washington, DC - A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been charged in the US with a plot to assassinate former US President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton.
The 45-year-old Tehran man, Shahram Poursafi, is accused of ordering an assassination and offering a reward of $300,000, the Justice Department said on Wednesday
(August 10)
in Washington .
According to the ministry, he is at large abroad.
The exact whereabouts are not known.
Bolton assassination: Not the first Iranian revenge plan "on American soil"
Prosecutors believe the plan was in retaliation for an attack in January 2020 that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Since then, Tehran has sworn it wants revenge and regularly threatens the United States, but also Israel.
Nothing is known about an attack on Bolton, who is now 73 years old.
The renowned diplomat was White House security adviser in 2018 and 2019, but then resigned in a dispute with Trump.
"This is not the first time we have uncovered Iranian revenge plots against people on American soil, and we will work tirelessly to uncover and thwart each and every one of these attempts," said Deputy Attorney General Matthew Olsen.
According to the US broadcaster Fox News, there have already been threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Iran coordinator at the US State Department, Brian Hook.
If Poursafi is caught and convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for the plans and another 15 years for the promised payment.
Bolton himself also commented on Iran's uncovered plan.
It is a "window" from which one can see how the government in Tehran works, he said on the US broadcaster CNN.
It not only shows how Iran deals with its terrorist activities and supports terrorist groups, but also provides insights into the nature of Iran's foreign policy.
"This is a regime that sees the US as an enemy and behaves as such," Bolton said.
Bolton assassination: Iran denies allegations
However, Iran has denied US allegations of a plot to assassinate former US President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton.
"These are baseless and ridiculous insinuations by the US to distract from its own crimes," State Department spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Friday.
The Justice Department's indictment is also absurd because Bolton is a "worthless and insolvent" politician, the spokesman said, according to the
Isna
news agency .
(lp/dpa)
