Iran on Wednesday rejected as “baseless” claims by the United States that an Iranian plotted to murder John Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor to then-President Donald Trump.
“Iran strongly warns against any action against Iranian citizens under the pretext of these ridiculous and baseless accusations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Earlier on Wednesday, the US Justice Department announced that an Iranian operative has been charged in a plot to assassinate Bolton.
Shahram Poursafi, an alleged member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, is wanted by the FBI in connection with the plot.
Poursafi is accused of offering an American citizen $300,000 to assassinate Bolton. According to the indictment, Iran sought to assassinate Bolton in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
Iran has repeatedly vowed to avenge the death of Soleimani, who was eliminated in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January of 2020.
Earlier this year, an animated video published on the website of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei depicted the assassination of former US President Donald Trump, who ordered the air strike that eliminated Soleimani.
Iran in 2020 issued an arrest warrant against Trump and asked for Interpol's aid in detaining him in the killing of Soleimani.
Interpol swiftly rejected the request, saying its guidelines for notices forbids it from "any intervention or activities of a political" nature.
More recently, Iran announced it seeks to prosecute 127 suspects, who were not named, for involvement and cooperation in the elimination of Soleimani.