Iran has announced a $30,000 bounty for citizens who capture or kill US soldiers, while women are reportedly being offered $60,000.
The announcement comes as tensions between Iran and the US remain high, with both sides periodically targeting each other’s interests across West Asia. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a key obstacle to peace talks since the conflict began on February 28.
According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, army chief Amir Hatami said the initiative was launched in response to numerous requests from citizens who wanted to contribute financially.
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Hatami gave no details about when or where US soldiers could be targeted or captured. So far, there has been no known deployment of US ground troops in Iran during the war, except for an April mission to rescue a US pilot whose aircraft had gone down.
According to IRNA, Hatami said the Iranian Army would pay $30,000, equivalent to 5 billion tomans, to anyone who kills or captures and hands over an American military personnel. A toman is an informal unit equal to 10,000 Iranian rials.
Hatami announced that women who capture a US soldier would be eligible for double the reward. He said “courageous Iranian women” taking part in such an operation would receive twice the amount.
The US-Iran tensions in West Asia
The US-Iran war began on February 28 after the Trump administration, along with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Israel, carried out strikes on Tehran and other parts of Iran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the opening day, prompting Iran to retaliate by targeting Israel and several US bases across neighbouring Arab countries.
Iran imposed an effective blockade on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas passes. The move pushed oil and gas prices sharply higher and added to pressure on the global economy.
The fighting continued for nearly 40 days before Pakistan stepped in to broker a ceasefire in April. A peace-talk framework was then established in June, though the negotiations later broke down.
The US and Iran have traded occasional strikes since then, with clashes largely focused on southern Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted commercial vessels, disrupting shipping through the Red Sea and further escalating tensions.
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