Iran rejected as baseless the United States charging an Iranian with plotting to murder former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton.

"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 Iranian media.

The U.S. Justice Department earlier 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 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed in a U.S. drone strike in January 2020.