Iranian citizen wanted to kill former Trump adviser: he has already been charged

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged an Iranian national with conspiracy to assassinate President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton. Writes about it CNBC.

Photo: IStock

Shahram Poursafi, 45, from Tehran, Iran, tried to orchestrate the assassination of Bolton in retaliation for a January 2020 US airstrike that resulted in Iranian commander-in-chief General Qasem Soleimani dies.

Soleimani, who led the special forces unit of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was a key figure in Iranian and Middle Eastern politics, and his death exacerbated already high tensions between Iran and the United States and raised fears of retaliation from Iranian forces.

Bolton, who served as Trump's third national security adviser for 17 months before retiring, was the chief architect of the administration's "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran. Bolton advocated tougher economic sanctions and retribution for Iran's malign behavior.

On the subject: Marketing genius: Trump steps up fundraising from his supporters, citing Mar-a-Lago raid

Poursafi, a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, sought to pay individuals in the United States a $2021 bounty in October 300 for carrying out a plot in either Washington, DC or Maryland.

Poursafi told one of his contacts that it didn't matter how the murder was carried out, but he would need video confirmation of Bolton's death. He asked the man several times when the murder would take place and told him to do it quickly.

Poursafi, also known as Mehdi Rezayee, was charged with using interstate commercial facilities to carry out a murder-for-hire operation and with providing and attempting to materially support a transnational assassination plot.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

If found guilty, Poursafi faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250 for using interstate trading facilities to commit murder. In addition, he faces up to 000 years in prison and a fine of up to $15 for providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational assassination plot.

Poursafi remains at large abroad.

In a statement after the arraignment, Bolton thanked the Justice Department, the FBI and the Secret Service.

“While much cannot be said publicly at this time, one thing is certain: Iran's rulers are liars, terrorists and enemies of the United States,” Bolton said. — Their radical anti-American goals are unchanged; their obligations are worthless; and their global threat is growing.”

Read also on ForumDaily:

One in six U.S. asylum cases end up being rejected due to applicants not being served with subpoenas

English by ear: 22 online resource for training listening

18 popular online shopping fraud tricks: how to protect yourself

Five valuable skills of the future and free courses to master them now

Aligning tenses in English: what Russian-speakers often make mistakes

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.