Bolton: Iranian threats on US officials a 'very major concern'

Former national security adviser John Bolton called Iranian threats against U.S. officials a "very major concern" during an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Friday.

This comes after the Justice Department on Friday revealed an alleged Iranian plot to kill President-elect Trump during his campaign this fall.

"I think it's a very major concern. I think this latest set of criminal charges just expands the information that's now publicly available. There are a lot of current and former U.S. government officials who are — who have been subject to this Iranian activity, a lot of ordinary American citizens," Bolton said.

He also mentioned Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist who was allegedly targeted in a murder-for-hire scheme by four Iranian officials, according to an indictment that the Justice Department unsealed in October.

"This is not computer chatter. This is not speculation. This is not some guy locked in a basement ranting demandedly on the internet," Bolton said.

"And I think the real question for, as a matter of public policy, whether it's Iran or anybody else, is whether we simply treat this as a law enforcement matter, or we treat the very effort to go after Americans, whether they're successful or not in eliminating them, whether we treat the effort itself as an act of war?" Bolton added.

In September, the Trump campaign said that the former president was briefed on alleged Iran assassination threats. In early August, a Pakistani national with alleged ties to the Iranian government was charged with plotting to carry out political assassinations in the U.S.

Trump also threatened earlier this fall to blow Iran “to smithereens” if he was back in the White House after his campaign said he was briefed about Iran’s alleged assassination threats against him.