US charges Iranian man over alleged plot to kill ex-Trump aide John Bolton

The US has charged an Iranian man it says is a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with attempting to hire a hitman for $300,000 to kill John Bolton, the former national security adviser in the Trump administration.

Poursafi is alleged to have said that after Bolton was killed, there would be another job, for which the hitman would be paid $1m.

The person offered the money became an FBI confidential informant, and continued to exchange texts on an encrypted communications app with Poursafi, who is believed to have tried to orchestrate the plot from Tehran. According to US authorities, Poursafi has never visited the US.

In a statement, Bolton thanked the justice department and the FBI for discovering and tracking the plot, and the Secret Service for providing protection. His office at his thinktank, Foundation for American Security and Freedom, confirmed Bolton was not provided with protection by the Trump administration after he was ousted as national security adviser in September 2019, but that protection was provided by the Biden administration.

Individual A introduced Poursafi to a second person, who they said was willing to take photographs and videos for a fee. This second person, who became a confidential source for the FBI, is not identified but appeared to live in Texas. The affidavit claims that Poursafi asked if the person had family in Iran, but the response was they did not.

A picture of a bearded man wearing IRGC camouflage fatigues said to be Poursafi is shown in the FBI affidavit. .