ALBAWABA - The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering $20 million for information leading to Shahram Poursafi's detention, a Revolutionary Guard member suspected of conspiring to kill a former Trump administration official.
The program's "X" (previously Twitter) account posted a picture of Poursafi and his history, promising a large reward for his whereabouts or actions.
U.S. officials revealed almost two years ago that Poursafi spearheaded an Iranian-sponsored plan to murder former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton.
The U.S. Department of Justice revealed in October 2022 that Poursafi, alias Mehdi Rezai, offered $300,000 to U.S. citizens to murder Bolton. The scheme was thought to be vengeance for the U.S. execution of Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
The assassin reported the scheme to U.S. officials, foiling it. Their name is unknown, but they were an FBI informant.
Poursafi instructed the informant to find and murder Bolton using an encrypted messaging app between October 2021 and April 2022, according to the Justice Department. He gave Bolton's address and asked the informant to finish the job before Soleimani's death anniversary.
Poursafi kept harassing the informant, offering $1 million in cryptocurrencies if they completed the scheme after the anniversary.
The Department of Justice also acknowledged that the informant repeatedly cited Poursafi's Quds Force links, which he never disputed. Tehran denies U.S. charges.
Poursafi, who may be in Iran, may serve 25 years in the US if apprehended. Given his location, his capture seems improbable.
