Why did Iranian army chief place bounty on US soldiers?

Iranian Army Chief Amir Hatami called for Americans to be captured or killed for a substantial cash reward.

By World Israel News Staff

The head of Iran’s armed forces bizarrely offered a cash reward of $30,000 for any Iranian citizen who captures or kills an American soldier and turns the servicemember over to Iranian authorities — despite the fact that the United States has not deployed ground troops inside Iran.

Iranian Army Chief Amir Hatami announced the reward in an interview with IRNA, Iran’s state-controlled news agency, calling on citizens to target American military personnel.

“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.

Hatami’s remarks come as the future of the conflict between Washington and Tehran remains uncertain and tensions continue despite a significant reduction in the scale of direct hostilities.

The United States has not put ground forces into Iran, although American and Iranian forces have engaged in repeated exchanges across the wider Middle East. Since a shaky ceasefire was reached in April, the conflict has largely devolved into limited tit-for-tat attacks, with the United States striking Iranian assets and Tehran retaliating against American military installations and other targets in the region.

The threat of American troops entering Iranian territory has nevertheless remained a recurring theme in Iranian rhetoric.

In April, two American airmen were forced to survive behind enemy lines after their F-15E fighter jet was shot down over the region. The pilot and weapons specialist aboard the aircraft were separated after the crash and remained on the ground until they were eventually rescued in a daring search-and-rescue operation.

The weapons specialist reportedly hid in a cave on a nearby mountain for nearly a day before being extracted.

The number of American servicemembers killed during Operation Epic Fury currently stands at 18, according to Pentagon figures, with all of the fatalities occurring outside Iran’s borders in regional countries including Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait.

Meanwhile, the broader U.S.-Iran agreement governing the ceasefire is approaching another key deadline. The Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries is set to expire Monday, although repeated violations have already raised questions about how much practical significance the expiration will have.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened further military action against Iran and has raised the possibility of targeting Iranian territory, including Kharg Island — a strategically important hub for the country’s oil production and exports.