$30 Million Bounty and Drone Threat: Iranian Clerics Call for Trump’s Assassination

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated after Iranian clerics reportedly issued a religious decree, or fatwa, calling for the assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The threats are said to be retaliation for Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year.

In a recent state TV broadcast, senior Iranian official Javad Larijani, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, warned that Trump could be hit by a micro-drone while sunbathing at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. He stated, “It’s very simple… a small drone might hit him in the navel.”

Iran International reported that a website has claimed over $30 million has been raised as a bounty for Trump. Cleric Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi also declared Trump a Muharib, or “enemy of Islam,” a label in Islamic law punishable by death.

The remarks come amid rising hostility following the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. In June, Trump claimed he had a chance to target Ayatollah Khamenei during a conflict but chose not to, saying, “I saved him from a very ugly death.”

Iranian state-backed newspaper Kayhan added fuel to the fire in April, publishing an article urging Trump’s assassination in revenge for Soleimani’s death.

The U.S. Department of Justice has previously disclosed Iranian plots to kill Trump. In November 2024, IRGC-linked agent Farhad Shakeri and two U.S.-based accomplices were charged with planning an assassination.

Trump has survived two known attempts on his life in 2024—one during a rally in Pennsylvania, and another while golfing in Florida. The Secret Service successfully intervened in both incidents.

The threats mark a dangerous peak in the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, with national security agencies on high alert.