Tipsheet

Iran Is Trying to Kill Americans on U.S. Soil. What Is Biden Doing About It?

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  August 15, 2022 2:45 PM

Over the past four weeks, Iranian-backed terrorists and operatives have attempted to kill a number of Americans. While the assassination attempts would have been unacceptable overseas, they brazenly happened right on U.S. soil. 

Activist Masih Alinejad was targeted at her home in Brooklyn. It wasn't the first time. 

Former Ambassador to the UN and assistant to the President for National Security Affairs John Bolton was targeted for assassination. 

"An Iranian national and member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was charged by complaint, unsealed today in the District of Columbia, with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and with providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot," the Department of Justice revealed. "According to court documents, beginning in October 2021, Shahram Poursafi, aka Mehdi Rezayi, 45, of Tehran, Iran, attempted to arrange the murder of former National Security Advisor John Bolton, likely in retaliation for the January 2020 death of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force (IRGC-QF) commander Qasem Soleimani. Poursafi, working on behalf of the IRGC-QF, attempted to pay individuals in the United States $300,000 to carry out the murder in Washington, D.C. or Maryland." 

The same Iranian national tasked with taking out Bolton was promised a $1 million bounty for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. 

Recommended

Rich Eisen Didn't Like Harrison Butker's Commencement Address, But Handled It the Right Way Matt Vespa
Anderson Cooper Stunned by Michael Cohen's Implosion Under Cross Examination Guy Benson

"Poursafi added that he had an additional 'job,' for which he would pay $1 million," DOJ says. 

Salman Rushdie, an outspoken activist against radical Islam and Iran, was stabbed by a man with links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard during an event in New York. The Iranian regime issued a fatwa against him in the 1980s. 

So what is the Biden administration, more specifically President Joe Biden, doing about it? Biden released a statement about Rushdie, with no mention of Iran. That's about it. 

"Jill and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the vicious attack on Salman Rushdie yesterday in New York. We, together with all Americans and people around the world, are praying for his health and recovery. I am grateful to the first responders and the brave individuals who jumped into action to render aid to Rushdie and subdue the attacker," Biden said. "Salman Rushdie—with his insight into humanity, with his unmatched sense for story, with his refusal to be intimidated or silenced—stands for essential, universal ideals. Truth. Courage. Resilience. The ability to share ideas without fear. These are the building blocks of any free and open society. And today, we reaffirm our commitment to those deeply American values in solidarity with Rushdie and all those who stand for freedom of expression."

Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to desperately give Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terror, a new nuclear deal.