On a Tuesday in November, the FBI placed an officer of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Shahram Poursafi, on its Most Wanted Terrorists list, accusing him of seeking to have two former American officials killed. The alleged effort, reaching back to 2021 and 2022, is traced to a desire for vengeance over the death of Qasem Soleimani in 2020, a reminder that old grievances between nations can travel across oceans and years to find a target on American soil. The plot ended in a quiet failure, because the person Poursafi approached was already working with the FBI, and no one was harmed.
FBI Adds IRGC Official Shahram Poursafi to Most Wanted Terrorists List Over Alleged $300,000 Plot to Kill John Bolton
Former U.S. officials Bolton and another unnamed official were targeted for assassination, though the plot was foiled before any harm occurred.
The plot fell through because the contact was working with the FBI.
Mark
Why does a case from 2021 and 2022 land on a Most Wanted list now?
Mimi
The listing puts Poursafi in the FBI's terrorism category and publicly seeks information on him. Wanted posters for three other alleged Qods Force officials went out the same day.
Luke
Worth saying plainly: the source doesn't explain the timing. We know what was announced Tuesday, not why Tuesday.
Mark
What do we actually know about how the plot worked?
Mimi
According to the 2022 Justice Department complaint, Poursafi first asked a U.S. resident to photograph Bolton, saying it was for a book. Then he offered another contact up to $300,000 to kill him, and mentioned a $1 million job.
Luke
Those details come from the complaint, which is the government's allegation. Poursafi hasn't been tried, and the reporting doesn't include any response from him.
Mark
And why did it fail?
Mimi
The second contact was a confidential human source working with the FBI.
Mark
Is the Soleimani motive established?
Luke
It's described as what authorities believe. That's a belief about motive, not a proven fact.
Mimi
The reporting also names Ansari as allegedly planning and attempting to assassinate two former officials with Poursafi's support. Those are allegations as well.
Luke
And the second targeted official is unnamed here, so we can't say more about that part.
Le Pouls
- An Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer is now hunted by name after allegedly offering up to $300,000 to have John Bolton assassinated.
- The plot's paper trail, from covert photographs of Bolton to a second, $1 million job, has turned a shadowy scheme into a federal case.
- The FBI's undercover source quietly collapsed the operation before any blow was struck, and the bureau is now publicly naming four alleged Qods Force men.
- Three more wanted posters widen the hunt, and the open question is whether extradition or new charges will follow across a border the suspects have no reason to cross.
On a Tuesday in November, the FBI placed an officer of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Shahram Poursafi, on its Most Wanted Terrorists list, accusing him of seeking to have two former American officials killed. The alleged effort, reaching back to 2021 and 2022, is traced to a desire for vengeance over the death of Qasem Soleimani in 2020, a reminder that old grievances between nations can travel across oceans and years to find a target on American soil. The plot ended in a quiet failure, because the person Poursafi approached was already working with the FBI, and no one was harmed.
On Tuesday, the FBI added Shahram Poursafi, a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to its Most Wanted Terrorists list. He is accused of soliciting the murders of two former U.S. government officials, with the alleged hiring taking place between October 2021 and April 2022.
Court documents focus on a plot against John Bolton, the former national security advisor. Authorities believe it was launched in retaliation for the January 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani, a commander within the Qods Force, the unit of the IRGC responsible for lethal operations. According to a 2022 Justice Department complaint, Poursafi first asked a U.S. contact he had met online to photograph Bolton, claiming the pictures were for a book. He later offered up to $300,000 to have Bolton eliminated, and mentioned a second job worth $1 million.
The scheme never advanced, because the second contact was a confidential FBI human source. No harm came to Bolton or to the other former official who was targeted, whose name has not been released.
The same day, the FBI issued wanted posters for three more alleged Qods Force officers: Mohammad Reza Ansari, Abolfazl Alizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Shamoradizadeh. Gregory Heeb of the FBI's Washington Field Office vowed the bureau would keep disrupting such plots and pursue IRGC members who threaten people in the United States. Whether charges or extradition efforts follow against the four named men, and whether the FBI expands its work against Iranian-linked plots, remains to be seen.
On Tuesday, the FBI added a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to its Most Wanted Terrorists list. The man is Shahram Poursafi, and he is accused of soliciting the murders of two former U.S. government officials. The FBI's Washington Field Office says the alleged hiring of killers took place between October 2021 and April 2022.
Court documents lay out one plot in detail: a scheme to kill John Bolton, the former national security advisor. Authorities believe the effort was started in retaliation for the January 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani, an IRGC commander who led a unit of the Qods Force. The Qods Force is one of the IRGC's five divisions and is responsible for developing and carrying out lethal plotting operations. Poursafi allegedly worked on its behalf.
The 2022 Justice Department complaint describes how the plan took shape. Poursafi first asked a U.S. resident he had met online to photograph Bolton, saying the pictures were for a book he was writing. He later approached another contact in the United States and offered up to $300,000 to "eliminate" the former national security advisor. According to the complaint, he also told that contact he had a second "job" for which he would pay $1 million.
The plot went no further because the second contact was a confidential human source working with the FBI. Such sources are often described as civilian informants. No harm came to Bolton or to the second former official who was targeted, whose name is not given in the reporting.
Poursafi was charged with using communication or travel networks across state lines to carry out a paid assassination. He was also charged with supplying resources or assistance for an international murder plot, according to the Justice Department complaint.
On the same day, the FBI released wanted posters seeking information on three alleged IRGC officials from the same Qods Force unit: Mohammad Reza Ansari, Abolfazl Alizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Shamoradizadeh. Ansari is described as an alleged deputy who has supported IRGC operations in Syria. He is also accused of planning and attempting to assassinate two former U.S. government officials with Poursafi's support. Alizadeh and Shamoradizadeh are alleged battalion commanders who have taken part in lethal plotting operations.
Gregory Heeb of the Counterterrorism Division at the FBI's Washington Field Office said the bureau would keep disrupting lethal plots and bring IRGC members to justice for threatening people in the United States. "The FBI will not stand for the IRGC's brazen attempts to silence, harm or murder activists, dissidents, journalists, public officials or anyone else it deems a threat," he said.
What to watch now is whether further charges or extradition efforts follow against the four named men, and whether the FBI widens its work against Iranian-linked plots of this kind.
Citations marquantes
The FBI will not stand for the IRGC's brazen attempts to silence, harm or murder activists, dissidents, journalists, public officials or anyone else it deems a threat.— Gregory Heeb, FBI Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division
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