Iranian lawmaker announces $3 million reward for 'whoever kills Trump' to avenge Soleimani killing
A politician from Iran, Ahmad Hamzeh, has offered a $3 million cash "award" for "whoever kills Trump," according to reports.
"On behalf of people of Kerman province, we will pay $3m award in cash to whoever kills Trump," the lawmaker from the province said, according to ISNA, Iran's semi-official news agency. Kerman is the hometown of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike on January 3 in Iraq.
Hamzeh reportedly did not comment on whether the decision for the Trump assassination reward money was made by clerical rulers. The president is currently in Davos, Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum. The threat, however, was dismissed as "ridiculous" by the US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood. "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," he said.
Hamzeh's threat also comes weeks after an $80 million bounty placed on Trump's head in Iran in the wake of Soleimani's assassination. A eulogist, during Soleimani's funeral broadcast on state TV Channel One, had said that one US dollar would be tabled for every Iranian in the country, with the total amount going to whoever kills Trump.
"Iran has 80 million inhabitants. Based on the Iranian population, we want to raise $80 million (£61million) which is a reward for those who get close to the head of President Trump," the eulogist stated, according to Al Arabia. Tehran has vowed to avenge the Quds Force general's death.
The threats against the president came as Iran acknowledged that its armed forces had fired two Russian anti-aircraft missiles at a Ukrainian plane Boeing 737-800, which crashed, killing 176 people on board.
A preliminary report by Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation had not blamed Iranian missiles for the plane's crash, and Iran had initially denied firing the missiles. However, the US and Canada released statements accusing the parliamentary Revolutionary Guard of bringing down the plane in anti-aircraft fire. Surveillance footage released of the tragedy also showed two missiles being fired at the aircraft. Out of the victims, 57 people were from Canada.