Iranian Lawmaker Places $3 Million Bounty on President Trump
An Iranian lawmaker has reportedly placed a $3-million bounty on President Donald Trump’s head for the killing of Quds force commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“On behalf of the people of Kerman province, we will pay a $3 million reward in cash to whoever kills Trump,” lawmaker Ahmad Hamzeh told the 290-seat Iranian parliament, Reuters reported, citing the ISNA news agency.
The city of Kerman, located in south-central Iran, is the hometown of Soleimani, according to Reuters.
Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Soleimani on Jan. 3, while the Iranian general was in Baghdad meeting with Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias responsible for recent attacks against a U.S. military outpost and the American embassy in Iraq.
Trump said that Soleimani also bore responsibility for the killing or wounding of thousands of U.S. troops
In addition to calling for the killing of the U.S. president, Hamzeh said that Iran should push to acquire nuclear weapons.
“If we had nuclear weapons today, we would be protected from threats … We should put the production of long-range missiles capable of carrying unconventional warheads on our agenda. This is our natural right,” he was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Earlier this month, Iran announced it would not abide by the uranium enrichment limits set by the 2015 nuclear deal, negotiated by the Obama administration and the nations of Great Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.
Britain, France and Germany responded to Tehran’s proclamation by triggering the dispute mechanism in the nuclear pact, which starts a diplomatic process that could lead to the reimposing of United Nations sanctions against Iran.
Trump pulled the United States from the agreement, known as the JCPOA, in 2018 and put back in place economic sanctions on Iran.
After Tehran launched missile strikes against military posts housing Americans in Iraq on Jan. 8, the Trump administration announced new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
In addition to pulling out of the JCPOA, Iran said on Monday that it would pull out from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if international sanctions were reimposed, according to Reuters.
U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that if Iran pulled out of the NPT it would be a “very unfortunate thing” that would send a “very negative message to the world community.”
Wood called Hamzeh’s bounty on Trump “ridiculous” and a reflection of the “terrorist underpinning of that regime.”
Following large protests by Iranians against their government earlier this month, Trump posted the most popular Farsi tweet in history, receiving over 360,000 likes.
به مردم شجاع و رنج کشیده ایران: من از ابتدای دوره ریاست جمهوریم با شما ایستادهام و دولت من همچنان با شما خواهد ایستاد. ما اعتراضات شما را از نزدیک دنبال می کنیم. شجاعت شما الهام بخش است.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020
“To the brave and suffering Iranian people: I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you,” the tweet read in English. “We are following your protests closely. Your courage is inspiring.”
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