To avenge Soleimani's killing, Iran planned an assassination attempt to kill former US NSA
Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton
An Iranian military operative named Shahram Poursafi alias Mehdi Rezayi has been charged by the US Department of Justice for plotting to assassinateJohn Bolton, the national security advisor toformer Republican President Donald Trump.
Reportedly,Poursafi, a member ofthe Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had offered $300,000 to an individual in the US to kill Bolton. The money was offered in the backdrop of the US military conducting an airstrike in 2020 which killed General Qasem Soleimani, Iran's top military commander at the time.
According to court documents, in October 2021, Poursafi contacted an unidentified US individual, wanting to commission photographs of Bolton. The said individual referredPoursafi to another contact who was then asked to execute the task of killing the top US leader.
After the indictment, Bolton released a statement saying, “While much cannot be said publicly right now, one point is indisputable: Iran’s rulers are liars, terrorists, and enemies of the United States."
IfPoursafi is caught and convicted of the murder-for-hire plot, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
WATCH: WION Exclusive with former United States NSA John Bolton
As reported extensively by WION, thesurprise drone killing of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's modern military strategy, had sent shock waves across the region and sparked fears of a direct military confrontation between decades-old arch enemies Washington and Tehran.
It is believed that it was Bolton who engineered USA's'maximum pressure' strategy during his 17-months tenure as the top Trump aide.
During Trump's reign, America applied tough economic sanctions on Iran and even walked out of the nuclear deal, which the current Biden administration is looking to revive.
(With inputs from agencies)
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