Iran’s parliament is preparing to vote on whether to place a €50million (£43.5m) bounty on the heads of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, as a planned full-scale American military strike on Iran was narrowly averted after the US President changed course at the last moment.
The proposed reward, which would be offered to anyone who assassinates either the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of Israel, is being considered in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the current conflict.
Why is Iran voting on a bounty for Trump and Netanyahu?
Ebrahim Azizi, who chairs Iran’s national security commission, confirmed that lawmakers were working on a bill bearing the title “Reciprocal action by military and security forces of the Islamic Republic.” According to Iranian state television, he wrote: “As Trump ordered the killing of Ali Khamenei, he himself should be dealt with by every Muslim and every free person.”
A second member of the commission, Mahmood Nabavian, also announced the imminent vote — boasting that the reward under consideration would be for sending “Mr Trump and Netanyahu to hell.”
He wrote: “Threats against the Supreme Leader and military commanders have again been heard from the filthy mouths of some enemy officials. The vile American and Zionist officials, as well as the heads of regional countries, should know that if any aggression takes place this time, we will destroy them along with their palaces.”
If passed, a formal state-sanctioned bounty would represent a significant escalation beyond the death threats already directed at both leaders, reports the Daily Mail.
Iranian religious authorities had already issued fatwas targeting both men before the parliamentary vote was announced. Since fighting broke out at the end of February, those calls have grown louder, with clerics repeatedly urging Muslims across the world to take revenge for Khamenei’s death.
Mr Trump has previously warned that any Iranian attempt on his life would trigger “very strict orders” to “wipe them off the face of the Earth.”
Why was the US attack on Iran called off?
The escalating rhetoric came as a planned American assault on Iran, described as “full-scale” and scheduled for today, was called off after Mr Trump reversed his decision at the eleventh hour, following personal appeals from Middle Eastern leaders to pursue a negotiated nuclear settlement instead.
Posting on Truth Social, Mr Trump declared he would “not follow through” with the assault, and made clear that direct intervention by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, alongside the rulers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, had been decisive in his change of heart.
He wrote: “I have been asked… to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow.”
The President said that “serious negotiations are now taking place” and that America’s Gulf allies believed a deal could be struck “which will be very acceptable” to the United States. He added: “This Deal will include, importantly, no nuclear weapons for Iran! Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders.”
Mr Trump reiterated his position that Iran must not be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon under any terms of a peace agreement.
