Iran has reportedly offered a reward of up to $40,000 to any citizen who captures or kills an American soldier, according to Iran’s Army Spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia in a video circulating on social media on Tuesday.
“It dates back to a time when people, benefactors, wanted to participate in this jihad against the American enemy but lacked the physical capacity to fight,” Akraminia said in the video. “They declared that they could provide financial assistance and make the necessary funds available.”
He claimed that this led to an initiative stipulating that any Iranian citizen who captures or hands over the remains of a US soldier to the authorities would receive a reward of around $20,000.
He said the reward would double to $40,000 if the citizen is a woman.
“Furthermore, I believe that if people from countries in the region were to do the same, that is, succeed in taking down or capturing an American soldier, we could award this prize to them as well,” Akraminia said.
This is not the first time Iran has put out a bounty on US troops. In August, Iranian Army Commander-in-Chief Amir Hatami announced a similar $30,000 reward for citizens who succeed in capturing or killing a US soldier.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) appealed to US midterm voters to reject US President Donald Trump’s policies and accept an offer of peaceful coexistence.
The letter accused Trump of concealing the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel, in particular, sees as an existential threat, and the effectiveness of Tehran’s blockade of Gulf oil.
IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi told reporters he did not expect the letter to affect the US administration’s behavior some five weeks before the elections, but that voters might hear the message.
“The American people are not knowledgeable about many developments. We believe if they knew more, they would think differently and take other decisions,” he said, adding that Trump is a “big liar.”