How did a foreign operative nearly orchestrate an assassination on US soil using just an internet connection?

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He nearly did it by using a basic remote-playbook of modern covert crime: online outreach, deception, and outsourcing violence to someone already inside the United States. According to the FBI and court filings, Shahram Poursafi, an alleged IRGC Qods Force member, never needed to physically enter the country. Investigators say he contacted a U.S.-based person online, posed as someone working on a book, and asked for photographs of John Bolton. That kind of seemingly ordinary digital contact allowed him to gather surveillance material while hiding the alleged real purpose. Authorities say the scheme then shifted into a murder-for-hire operation. Poursafi allegedly offered up to $300,000 to have Bolton killed and referenced another potential job worth $1 million. In practical terms, that meant he was trying to use the internet as a recruitment and command channel, relying on local intermediaries to do the physical work while he stayed abroad. What made the plot plausible was not technical sophistication but the combination of distance, deniability, and money. A foreign operative could identify targets, communicate securely enough to test recruits, and attempt to direct violence without crossing a border. U.S. officials say the motive was retaliation for the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani. The assassination did not proceed because the person he was dealing with was actually an FBI confidential human source. That intervention exposed how a state-linked operative could try to tu…

FBI Adds IRGC's Poursafi to Most Wanted List Over $300,000 Bolton Murder Plot

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FBI Adds IRGC's Poursafi to Most Wanted List Over $300,000 Bolton Murder Plot

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