Associated Press/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump speaks during an event where he congratulated astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch as they conduct the first all-female spacewalk, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019, in Washington.
- Iranian lawmaker Ahmad Hamzeh, who represents Kerman province, offered to pay a $3 million reward to "whoever kills Trump" in a speech to the country's parliament, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Iran's ISNA News Agency.
- The city of Kerman is the hometown of slain Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian commander Trump had killed earlier this month.
- Hamzeh's call marks the second time this month a prominent Iranian has offered a substantial reward for anyone who assassinates the US president. It's unclear whether this is supported by the Iranian government.
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An Iranian lawmaker has placed a $3 million bounty on President Donald Trump's head, offering the reward to "whoever kills Trump," Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Iran's ISNA News Agency.
Ahmad Hamzeh reportedly told Iran's parliament that "on behalf of the people of Kerman province, we will pay a $3 million reward in cash to whoever kills Trump." The city of Kerman is the hometown of deceased Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the senior Iranian commander Trump had killed in a drone strike earlier this month.
There is no indication that these proposals are supported by the Iranian government as an official position.
Soleimani was killed early in the morning on Jan. 3 when a US drone fired missiles at the truck he was riding in. Days later, Iran retaliated by launching a barrage of ballistic missiles at US and coalition forces in Iraq, While around a dozen US troops suffered minor injuries in the attack, no one was killed, and both sides have since taken steps away from conflict.
But tensions between Washington and Tehran persist, especially as Iran takes steps to advance its nuclear program in violation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from two years ago and began re-imposing economic sanctions.
"If we had nuclear weapons today, we would be protected from threats," Hamzeh said. "We should put the production of long-range missiles capable of carrying unconventional warheads on our agenda. This is our natural right."
Hamzeh's comments mark the second time this month a prominent Iranian has put forward a reward for Trump's assassination in response to the targeted killing of the Iranian general.
"We will give a prize of $80 million to whoever brings the head of the person who ordered the killing and terrorism of our big revolutionary hero," a eulogist at the funeral procession for Soleimani told a crowd of angry mourners. "Anyone who brings the yellow-haired lunatic to us will get $80 million from the Iranian people."
US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood, according to Reuters, said that the Iranian lawmaker's reported comments are "ridiculous," telling reporters that "it's just ridiculous but it gives you a sense of the terrorist underpinnings of that regime and that regime needs to change its behavior."