OAN Staff Lillian Mann
10:50 AM – Monday, August 17, 2026
Iran is offering a $30,000 reward to its citizens who kill or capture United States service members, vowing that U.S. bases in the Middle East will not be able to return to their pre-conflict state.
Iranian state media outlet IRNA reported Sunday that Major General Amir Hatami, Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army, announced a $30,000 reward (5 billion tomans) for anyone who kills or captures a U.S. soldier.
Additionally, any Iranian woman who carries out the act will be rewarded $60,000, Hatami added.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami told IRNA. “Courageous Iranian women who carry out such an action will receive double the reward,” he added.
According to IRNA, Hatami said the plan was orchestrated due to the “large number of requests” to establish bounties on U.S. soldiers. Hatami also declared that any weapons used to kill or capture a U.S. soldier would be purchased for twice their value and displayed in a museum.
Hatami further demanded the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region, asserting that American troops should be barred from entering the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.
However, he offered no explanation for how such demands could be enforced given the absence of U.S. ground troops in Iran during the nearly six-month-old conflict. The last U.S. military presence on Iranian soil occurred in early April, when forces successfully rescued the crew of a downed F-15E fighter jet.
According to Stars and Stripes, over 50,000 U.S. military personnel are deployed across the Middle East. Throughout the conflict, American bases in locations such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan have been targeted repeatedly by Iranian forces.
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