An Iranian cleric has offered a reward “to anyone who brings the head of Trump,” according to an exiled Iranian outlet, adding to the calls from several Iranian figures and state-aligned media for the president’s assassination.
Mansour Emami, a state-appointed official from the West Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran, offered a substantial reward for Trump’s assassination, according to the U.K.-based Iranian International opposition outlet and the state-run Hawzah news agency. Newsweek has been unable to independently verify these reports.
Newsweek has contacted Iran’s foreign ministry for comment via email on Thursday.
In recent weeks, at least one high-profile Iranian official has issued a fatwa, or ruling grounded in Islamic law, against the Republican and also against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The fatwa, publicized by one of the country’s most senior clerics, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, was downplayed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a conversation with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this month, who said the order had “nothing to do with the Iranian government or the Supreme Leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The spike in violence between Israel and Iran, now referred to by many as the “12 day war,” flared last month when Israel launched attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military sites. Tehran then launched its own aerial assaults on Israel.
Trump greenlit U.S. strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, which the president has since described as having “obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear program. Different assessments say the sites sustained varying degrees to damage.
The U.S., and many of America’s allies, have said it is unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons. While Tehran has insisted its program is peaceful, international investigators have found highly enriched uranium close to the level needed for a weapon, and Iranian officials have suspended their cooperation with the international nuclear watchdog.
Iran said on Tuesday it had not requested talks with the U.S. on nuclear agreements after Trump indicated Tehran was seeking a new accord, and that negotiations were “scheduled.”
The Department of Homeland Security last month said Iran “has a long-standing commitment to target U.S. Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020.” Iranian commander Major General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated at the start of 2020 during a drone strike ordered by Trump during his first term in office.
Mohammad-Javad Larijani, an aide close to Khamenei, said earlier this week the U.S. President “can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago,” referring to Trump’s Florida resort. “While he’s lying down, a micro-drone might target and strike him right in the navel,” Larijani said during an appearance on state-controlled television.
When asked about the remarks, Trump responded: “I’m not sure it’s a threat, actually, but perhaps it is.”
“The Iranian regime’s continued calls to assassinate President Trump are completely unacceptable,” Republican Senator Jim Risch, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday.
Ahead of his reelection late last year, Trump said in September there were “big threats on my life by Iran,” adding: “Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again.”
CNN reported in July 2024 that U.S. authorities had information indicating Iran had developed a plot to assassinate Trump, prompting security around the then-presidential candidate to tighten over the summer. There was no indication that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Trump that month, was connected to Iran, according to the report.
An Iranian website claims to run a public campaign to fundraise for Trump’s assassination. As of Thursday, the website claimed to have raised more than $40 million.
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