President Donald Trump has been identified as a primary target on Iran’s assassination list, according to former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton. The assertion was made during Bolton’s appearance on Sky News’ “The World,” where he discussed Iran’s terror network operations in Europe and the United States.
Bolton, who served as National Security Adviser in Trump’s first administration from 2018 to 2019, indicated that several U.S. government officials have been marked for assassination by Iran. This is believed to be in response to the January 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad Airport, Iraq.
“President Trump is at the top of their list of their targets,” Bolton declared in the interview. He also mentioned that he himself is on Iran’s list but confirmed Trump is the primary focus.
Qasem Soleimani served as a major general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and led the Quds Force, known for military and clandestine operations beyond Iran’s borders. The U.S. had labeled Soleimani a terrorist. At the time of his death, he was considered one of Iran’s most influential figures, second to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to Bolton, Iran engages criminal elements, particularly “Eastern European criminal gangs and others,” to execute its assassination plans. This claim is supported by intelligence reports indicating Iran’s increased reliance on European criminal networks to attack its adversaries.
In 2022, the U.S. Justice Department issued an arrest warrant for Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian national accused of plotting Bolton’s assassination. Court documents revealed that Poursafi, affiliated with the IRGC, attempted to pay individuals in the U.S. up to $300,000 to kill Bolton in Washington, D.C., or Maryland. Poursafi remains in Iran.
Bolton explained to Sky News that threats against him and other former officials persist. “I’m not the only person in addition to Trump,” he noted, mentioning that other former cabinet members are also targeted due to their official roles in the U.S. government.
The former security adviser warned that if Iran successfully targets a senior U.S. official, it could be seen as an “act of war,” describing this as “really dangerous.”
Bolton’s comments reflect increasing concerns about Iran’s use of criminal networks as proxies for its activities in Europe and North America. Security agencies from multiple countries have documented Iran’s growing collaboration with organized crime groups for surveillance, intimidation, and attacks on Iranian dissidents, Israeli and Jewish targets, and Western government officials.
In May, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum stated that British authorities encountered 20 Iranian-backed plots against UK citizens and residents since January 2022. He highlighted that “Iranian state actors make extensive use of criminals as proxies” in these operations.
Intelligence agencies in Sweden and Israel recently reported that Iran has employed Swedish criminal gangs like Foxtrot and Rumba to target Israeli and Jewish sites in Europe. The Swedish Security Service (Säpo) confirmed in May 2024 that “Iran has been for several years carrying out activities inside the country that threaten security,” often utilizing criminal networks as proxies.
Following the 2018 thwarted Iranian bomb plot in Paris, which led to the arrest and conviction of an Iranian diplomat, Tehran has altered its tactics to distance itself more from its overseas operations. The French domestic intelligence service DGSI noted that Iranian intelligence has “adapted their modus operandi and now more systematically prefer to use people from criminal circles” for foreign attacks.
These operations’ targets have expanded beyond Iranian dissidents to include American and European officials involved in actions against Iranian interests, particularly those linked to Soleimani’s assassination.
Although Bolton continues to warn of the Iranian threat, his relationship with President Trump has been strained since his departure from the administration. Bolton has become a vocal critic of Trump and even considered opposing him politically. He once described working in the Trump White House as “like living inside a pinball machine.”
Adding to the tension, Bolton disclosed that Trump rescinded his government security protection upon reassuming office in January 2025. “On what one might have thought was a pretty busy inauguration day, President Trump had the time to cancel my Secret Service protection,” Bolton remarked. He cautioned that this decision “sends a very bad signal to adversaries of the United States around the world.”
Bolton confirmed he has since arranged for his own private security to replace the Secret Service. He expressed concern that Trump’s actions might “have an effect on decision making” for current administration officials if they see the repercussions for those who “fall out of Trump’s favor.”
The U.S. government has taken extraordinary measures to protect some former officials targeted by Iran, while others, especially former White House officials no longer in favor, have had to secure their own protection.
In October 2024, the Biden administration offered a reward of up to $20 million for information on Shahram Poursafi, the Iranian operative accused of plotting to kill Bolton. This reward followed briefings to then-presidential candidate Trump by U.S. intelligence officials about an Iranian assassination plot against him.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged several individuals linked to Iranian plots against American citizens and former officials in recent years, emphasizing the ongoing threat from Tehran’s network of operatives and criminal proxies.
