- The DOJ announced Wednesday that John Bolton was the target of an assassination plot.
- Bolton says he was “embarrassed” by the “low price” the Iranian official offered to kill him.
- While Shahram Poursafi only offered $300,000 for Bolton, they offered $1 million for Mike Pompeo.
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Former national security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday he was “embarrassed” that an Iranian military official offered just $300,000 to kill him.
The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that Shahram Poursafi, a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), offered the reward “likely in retaliation” for the January 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force and a strong figure in the country.
Bolton served under former President Donald Trump before being fired in September 2019.
“Well, I was embarrassed by the low price. I thought it would be higher,” he quipped in an appearance on CNN Wednesday night. “Maybe it was a problem with the exchange rate or something.”
He also said he had “long had a general understanding of what the threat was” but was not aware of the specifics of the plot.
He also indicated he was unaware of another plot against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — who had a much higher $1 million bounty on his murder, according to an Axios report — but said he was not surprised. The Justice Department declined to comment when contacted by Insider about the Pompeo report.
“I think there are a significant number of people who are vulnerable to these Iranian efforts,” he said.
During his long career in Washington, Bolton earned a reputation as a foreign policy hawk. He is considered the architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and generally advocates regime change in Iran.
Bolton was instrumental in former President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, a move that raised tensions between Washington and Tehran to historic heights. The Obama-era deal was designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. After pulling out of the deal, Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran as part of a “maximum pressure” strategy championed by Bolton.
Trump’s decision to order a drone strike against Soleimani in early 2020 escalated an already tense situation and raised fears that the US and Iran were on the brink of war. Both sides eventually distanced themselves from a wider conflict, but the dynamic between Washington and Tehran remains contentious.
President Joe Biden has tried to revive the 2015 nuclear deal — an Obama-era agreement — but indirect talks to restore the pact have so far failed to produce an agreement. During a visit to Israel last month, Biden said the US would use force as a “last resort” to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
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