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Iranian Attempted to Murder John Bolton. This Is How DOJ Responded

Departamento de Justicia acusa a un iraní de intentar asesinar a John Bolton

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The Department of Justice filed charges against a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard for planning the assassination of John Bolton, who was National Security Advisor during the administration of Donald Trump (2017-2021).

According to the DOJ indictment, published on Wednesday, Shahram Poursafi (also known as Mehdi Rezayi) had allegedly attempted to assassinate Bolton in retaliation for the death of Revolutionary Guard chief Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. operation in January 2020.

Poursafi, 45, originally from Tehran, was charged with murder plotting in a Washington DC court for planning in late 2021 to pay $300,000 for hired assassins to kill Bolton in the U.S. capital’s metropolitan area.

On social media, the former Trump advisor thanked the Department of Justice for initiating criminal proceedings, the FBI for tracking the assassination plot, and the U.S. Secret Service for providing him with protection.

According to the DOJ, the Revolutionary Guard member maintained contacts between October 2021 and April 2022 with hired assassins in the US to track Bolton’s movements and execute his assassination.

In these communications, Poursafi revealed pressures from his chain of command for the crime to be carried out as soon as possible and promised to have a second assignment, of which no further details were given.

He also came to regret that the assassination was not carried out on January 3, the second anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination in a Trump-ordered drone strike at Baghdad airport.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio questioned why the Biden Administration was still trying to negotiate with the Iranian regime after discovering that they are attempting to assassinate former high-level U.S. government officials.

In the latest message exchange recorded by the FBI, one of the contract killers complained about the lack of payment, to which Poursafi responded by sending $100 in cryptocurrencies.

If convicted, the Revolutionary Guard member will face up to 25 years in prison for the assassination plot.

The former National Security Advisor called in his statement for the Joe Biden Administration not to return to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, which the Trump Administration pulled out of.

Bolton was dismissed from his position by Trump after disagreements on the policy toward Venezuela.

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