Prosecutors said Shahram Poursafi, a 45-year-old Iranian national and IRGC member, attempted to pay $300,000 to an individual in the United States to kill Bolton and said he had a “second job” for $1 million.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was also a target of an Iranian assassination plot, according to a federal law enforcement source familiar with the investigation and a source close to Pompeo. A known Iran policy hawk, Pompeo served as Trump’s secretary of state at the time of the airstrike that killed Soleimani.
CNN has attempted to reach Pompeo for comment.
Poursafi has not been arrested and remains at large.
Poursafi originally contacted the US-based individual — who was secretly working as an FBI informant, also known as a “confidential human source,” or CHS — and asked them to take photos of Bolton “for a book that Poursafi was writing, “court documents say.
He later asked if the informant could hire a person to “eliminate someone,” who was later revealed to be Bolton, and promised protection for the CHS and the assassin, prosecutors say. Poursafi also allegedly suggested the murder should be done “by car,” provided the CHS with an address for Bolton’s office, and noted that Bolton had a habit of taking walks alone.
In November 2021, the informant traveled to Washington, DC, and sent Poursafi photos of Bolton’s office and descriptions of the building. Poursafi allegedly said that the killing should happen in the building’s garage, as it was a “high traffic” area.
Poursafi has been charged with the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, which carries a 10-year maximum prison sentence, and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot, which carries up to 15 years in prison.
In a statement, Bolton thanked the Justice Department, FBI and Secret Service for their efforts.
“While much cannot be said publicly right now, one point is indisputable: Iran’s rulers are liars, terrorists, and enemies of the United States,” Bolton said. “Their radical, anti-American objectives are unchanged; their commitments are worthless; and their global threat is growing.”
A hawkish neoconservative, Bolton had previously advocated for regime change in Iran and backed Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the multinational Iran nuclear deal.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.
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