Announces $30,000 reward for anyone who kills or captures US soldier involved in an ‘act of aggression’
tehran
Iran’s Army Chief Major General Amir Hatami on Sunday warned the United States against any attempt to claim the strategic waterway as US territory, saying, “You are very wrong! Even joking about this is a massive mistake. This is Iran, and it has guardians who will break your leg.”
Speaking at a ceremony marking National Journalists’ Day, Hatami described the strategic waterway as a “divine geopolitical capacity” for Iran, saying it would never return to its previous status.
Hatami said activating Iran’s geopolitical leverage over the strait was necessary to remove the threat of war from the country, adding that Iran would defend it with all its strength.
He also claimed that Iranian forces had struck the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln at least once, temporarily grounding its fighter jets.
Hatami also announced a financial reward for anyone who kills or captures a US soldier involved in an act of aggression, saying the era of American military presence in the Persian Gulf was permanently over.
He said a new initiative had been launched with support from public crowdfunding campaigns, under which Iranian citizens could contribute funds to support the armed forces’ defence operations.
“Under the scheme, anyone who kills or captures a US soldier and hands them over to Iranian authorities will receive a reward of 5 billion tomans, equivalent to about $30,000,” Hatami said.
He added that Iranian women who accomplish the feat would receive double the reward.
An Iranian military official said that Qatar should allow an Iranian team to enter the country to investigate the fate of pilots whom Tehran says were captured by Qatari forces, Iranian media reported.
Qatar denies holding any Iranian pilots. Doha said on Saturday that its search and rescue teams had found the remains of one pilot after Iranian aircraft violated Qatari airspace in March and failed to respond to attempts to contact them.
Qatar said it had contacted Iran to coordinate the handover of the remains and had invited Tehran to review details of its search and rescue operations, but had received no response.
Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said an Iranian Air Force expert and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Baqerzadeh accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots’ return to Iran. He called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently follow up on the case.
Baqerzadeh also said Kuwait was similarly withholding information about the fate of four Iranians held in Kuwait.
