A host of political and security analysts specialising in Iranian affairs have deemed the botched plots by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate US officials a new chapter in “IRGC idiocy”.
IRGC member Shahram Poursafi, 45, also known as Mehdi Rezayi, was indicted in absentia by the US Justice Department on August 10 over allegations he had offered to pay an individual in the United States $300,000 to kill former US national security adviser John Bolton.
Poursafi is still at large.
The plot, which stretched from last October until April, never made headway because the supposed assassin with whom Poursafi was communicating was an informant for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The FBI let the plotting continue for months in order to collect information on Poursafi and on Iran’s broader plans, court documents show.
These included another plot to kill an even more prominent former US official for a $1 million payment.
In the process of implementing the assassination plot, Poursafi revealed his identity and exposed his personal contact and identity documents.
His Iranian national identification number is 1930098431, his email address is [email protected], his phone number is +989125666366 and his Twitter account is @shahrampoursafi, according to accounts on social media.
Such a revelation is unheard of from a senior intelligence figure, say numerous security observers.
In the process of communicating with the FBI agent, Poursafi disclosed information that led authorities to find, among other things, pictures of Poursafi wearing a uniform with an IRGC patch.
A new chapter of idiocy
The plan to assassinate John Bolton “is a new chapter of the idiocy practiced by the IRGC inside and outside Iran”, said Iranian affairs researcher Dr. Fathi al-Sayed of the Middle East Centre for Regional and Strategic Studies.
The mere planning of such an operation “increases Iran’s isolation and further confirms that it is a sponsor of terrorism around the world”, he told Al-Mashareq, adding that if the plan had been carried out, “it would have led to very dire consequences for Iranians.”