The FBI has placed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard operative on its Most Wanted Terrorists list for allegedly orchestrating assassination plots against former Trump administration officials, including National Security Advisor John Bolton. The federal agency is now offering rewards for information leading to the capture of four Iranian operatives accused of planning politically motivated murders on American soil.
The Assassination Scheme Targeting Bolton
Shahram Poursafi, a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, allegedly recruited individuals between October 2021 and April 2022 to kill two former U.S. government officials. Court documents reveal Poursafi offered $300,000 to assassinate Bolton and promised an additional $1 million for a second unspecified target. The plot was believed to be revenge for the January 2020 killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani during a U.S. military operation.
Poursafi worked on behalf of the Qods Force, a specialized IRGC division responsible for carrying out lethal operations abroad. He initially contacted a U.S. resident he had met online, requesting photographs of Bolton under the pretense of writing a book. The operative then approached another American contact with the murder-for-hire proposal, unaware the individual was actually a confidential FBI informant working to expose the plot.
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Three Additional Iranian Commanders Sought
The FBI simultaneously released wanted posters for three alleged Qods Force officials connected to the assassination schemes. Mohammad Reza Ansari, described as a deputy who supported IRGC operations in Syria, allegedly helped plan and coordinate the attacks on American officials alongside Poursafi. Two battalion commanders, Abolfazl Alizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Shamoradizadeh, are accused of participating in lethal plotting operations targeting U.S. citizens and former government personnel.
Federal Response to Foreign Threats
Poursafi faces federal charges for using interstate communication networks to facilitate paid assassination and providing resources for international murder plots. Gregory Heeb from the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterterrorism Division emphasized the agency’s commitment to protecting Americans from foreign threats. The FBI vowed to continue disrupting assassination plots and pursuing IRGC members who threaten activists, dissidents, journalists, public officials, and anyone else the Iranian regime considers an enemy. This case underscores ongoing Iranian efforts to conduct hostile operations within U.S. borders against American citizens and officials who support strong national security policies.