Crystals of Bi₄Ir, a new intermetallic compound, were obtained by the reaction of an iridium-containing intermetallic precursor with liquid bismuth. X-ray diffraction on a single crystal revealed a rhombohedral structure [R3¯m, a = 2656.7(2) pm, and c = 701.6(4) pm]. Bi₄Ir is not isostructural to Bi₄Rh but combines motifs of the metastable superconductor Bi₁₄Rh₃ with those found in the weak topological insulator Bi₁₄Rh₃I₉. The two crystallographically independent iridium sites in Bi₄Ir have square-prismatic and skewed-square-antiprismatic bismuth coordination with Bi-Ir distances of 283-287 pm. By sharing common edges, the two types of [IrBi₈] units constitute a complex three-dimensional network of rings and helices. The bonding in the heterometallic framework is dominated by pairwise Bi-Ir interactions. In addition, three-center bonds are found in the bismuth triangles formed by adjacent [IrBi₈] polyhedra. Density functional theory based band-structure calculations suggest metallic properties.