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Blinken Warns Iran over Plot to Target Bolton, Pompeo

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech on the US Africa Strategy at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus in Pretoria, South Africa, August 8, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech on the US Africa Strategy at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus in Pretoria, South Africa, August 8, 2022. (Reuters)
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Blinken Warns Iran over Plot to Target Bolton, Pompeo

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech on the US Africa Strategy at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus in Pretoria, South Africa, August 8, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a speech on the US Africa Strategy at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus in Pretoria, South Africa, August 8, 2022. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Iran on Thursday against targeting American citizens in wake of the revelation that Tehran had plotted to murder John Bolton, a national security adviser to former President Donald Trump.

“Our message to Iran is clear: we will not tolerate threats of violence against Americans — and that certainly includes former government officials. Any attack would be met with severe consequences,” tweeted Blinken.

It was revealed that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also served under Trump, was another target of Iranian plots.

Earlier, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned Iran that the Biden Administration “will not waiver in protecting and defending all Americans against threats of violence and terrorism.”

The United States charged a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday with plotting to murder Bolton.

The Justice Department alleged that Shahram Poursafi, also known as Mehdi Rezayi, 45, of Tehran, was likely motivated to kill Bolton in retaliation for the death of Qassem Soleimani, a commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps killed in a US drone strike in January 2020.

Pompeo was the second target, according to Morgan Ortagus, who served as State Department spokesperson during his tenure.

Iran does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, and Poursafi remains at large. The FBI on Wednesday released a most-wanted poster.

Tehran condemned the US move.

“Iran strongly warns against any action against Iranian citizens under the pretext of these ridiculous and baseless accusations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.

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Australia, Britain Sign 50-Year AUKUS Submarine Partnership Treaty

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Australia, Britain Sign 50-Year AUKUS Submarine Partnership Treaty

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)

Australia’s government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership.

The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the US in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. US President Donald Trump’s administration announced a formal review of the pact this year.

Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state.

“The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines,” the statement said.

The treaty was a “commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defense cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I,” it said, adding that it built on the “strong foundation” of trilateral AUKUS cooperation.

Britain’s ministry of defense said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies’ submarine programs and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years.

AUKUS is Australia’s biggest-ever defense project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the program, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the US production base.

Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the US in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed.

The defense and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia’s largest war games.

As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia’s military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability.

Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year.