As we reported the Department of Justice has charged an Iranian with
trying to assassinate former national security advisor John Bolton,
U. S officials say the man was a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Corps. Next Shiffrin is following this and he joins me here, So hello,
Nick. What do we know about this plot? US officials say beginning
in about October 2021 Iranian named Shatra. Um poor Safi, that is
his FBI Wanted poster began to take steps.
To assassinate bowl and you can see they're both on the left and
the right Safi in uniform. That DOJ says is part of the evidence
that he was a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps could
force that's the unit that oversees overseas operation is really
the military wing of the regime. DOJ says. Poor Safi hired a person
in the US that DOJ identifies as a confidential human source to the
U. S. Offered him 1st $250,000, then after negotiation.
$300,000 in digital currency to hire someone to assassinate John
Bolton. The person in the U. S. Said that yes, he had hired someone
member of a Mexican cartel. Safi said that he wanted Bolton to be
killed by the end of 2021 at one point, per Safi even message this
person in the US a photo of the cash that he was offering. The FBI
was able to get inside of poor softies messaging apps. Here's how
Matt Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national secure
Pretty described earlier today.
This was not an idle threat.
And this is not the first time we have uncovered brazen acts.
By Iran to exact revenge against individuals on U. S soil.
We will work tirelessly to continue to expose and disrupt every one
of these efforts, And that is a reference to a previous Iranian plot
to assassinate the former Saudi ambassador in the U. S bottom line.
Duty justice. The FBI took this plot very seriously, even though
the person that poor Safi thought he was hiring to hire hit man was,
in fact, an FBI informant. What is the government saying about why
they believe the Revolutionary Guard was targeting Bolton? Safi and
this official in the US talked about custom suit.
Soleimani. This is the former head of the codes Force who was killed
in a US drone strike on January. 3rd 2020. Iran has been very clear
that it wanted revenge for Samal Sulaiman's death, especially by
killing individual Americans. Something that Bolton told me earlier
today when we spoke
It was very serious, and I don't think it was John Bolton alone.
That was the target here. I think there were many former administration
officials but also private American citizens and it it really tells
you the real nature of the regime in Tehran that they are threatening
American citizens on American soil. Former senior official tells
me that Iran identified five specific former officials to assassinate
former President Trump, former Secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
Bolton, the former top commander in the Middle East, General Frank
McKenzie, who was in charge of all military U. S military in the
Middle East, and Brian Hook, the former special envoy for Iran, and
In fact, Safi specifically said there was going to be a second target
for which he was willing to pay $1 million to assassinate and that
quote his time would come. US. Officials say the threat is very much
active today, Judy Well, that's disturbing.
So Nick. All this happens as the administration is just about to
re enter these nuclear talks on Iran's nuclear nuclear program. How
is it thought that this is going to affect all that US special say
it will not affect those talks. A White House spokesperson tells
me today that President Biden still believes diplomacy is the best
path to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Their argument
is that the US will deal with Iran's other destabilizing behavior,
the largest ballistic missile
Graham in the Middle East Iran's support for proxies and terrorism
across the region, but separately want to put the Iranian nuclear
program so to speak in a kind of box. Bolton, however, and others
disagree.
Iran's nuclear weapons program and its terrorist activities are two
sides of the same coin. You can't separate one from the other. These
they are endemic to the regime in Tehran. That was the mistake of
the 2015 deal. It's the mistake and trying to go back into it. But
the administration argues, is that it's actually easier.
To deal with those other aspects of Iran's ballin activity in the
Middle East if Iran's nuclear program is constrained, and that's
what they will continue to do. As for the talks, duty senior U. S
officials tell me that they've actually made a lot of progress. In
the last few months, they have jumped over the kind of major hurdles
that they had at the beginning of the deal, which steps the U. S
would take in order to lift the sanctions on Iran and which steps
Iran had to take to get back into compliance When it comes to
Its nuclear program, but the two sides are disagreeing Still to this
day over whether the IAEA the International Atomic Energy Agency
can investigate Iran's previous attempts to try and create a nuclear
program. Those attempts, of course that Iran concealed from the world.
There is a final text on the table, Judy and we may know within just
a couple of days. Whether there might there could be a deal or not
timing of this very interesting. John Bolton, of course, long time
opponent of any