Iran offers 30 billion rial bounty for killing or capturing US soldiers

Iran has placed a cash price on the heads of American service members. The bounty, reported at 30 billion rials (roughly $30,000 at current exchange rates), is being offered for anyone who kills or captures a US soldier and hands them over to Iranian authorities. The announcement, disseminated through Iranian state media including the hardline Kayhan newspaper and the official IRNA news agency, represents one of the most direct public calls targeting US military personnel to come out of Tehran. If the act is carried out by a woman, the reward doubles to approximately $60,000, a detail that underscores the propagandistic nature of the offer. A conflict that keeps escalating The bounty didn’t emerge from a vacuum. It sits within a broader period of military confrontation between the US and Iran that has been intensifying since late February 2026, when hostilities between the two countries sharply escalated. Since February 28, 2026, at least 17 US military personnel have reportedly been killed in the conflict. Iran has been demanding that US forces withdraw from the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz, waterways that carry roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply...