United States | News & Politics

The US is offering a $20m reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Shahram Poursafi, a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who is accused of plotting to assassinate former US national security advisor John Bolton.

The US State Department says that between 2021-2022, Poursafi was working on behalf of the IRGC's Quds Force to hire criminals to murder Bolton in Washington DC and Maryland. Poursafi is said to have been offering $300,000 for the job.

"Poursafi told the potential assassin - who actually became a confidential source for US investigators - that once he completed the Bolton murder, he would have a second assassination job for him," the administration statement reads.

When Bolton first learned of the plot in 2022, he was asked on CNN what went through his mind. "Well, I was embarrassed at the low price," Bolton responded. "I would have thought it would have been higher. But I guess maybe it was the exchange rate problem or something."