Protesters wave Iranian flags as another holds up an image of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Tehran, during a symbolic funeral on March 6, 2026. Iran announced a bounty Aug. 16, 2026, for the killing or capture of U.S. service members amid the nearly six-month war, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. (Hadi Mizban/AP)
Iran is offering its citizens up to $60,000 to kill or capture American service members, as its army chief vows that U.S. bases in the Middle East will not be allowed to return to their prewar state.
The bounty was announced Sunday by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami, who said it was a result of Iranians’ expressions of eagerness to contribute to the war effort, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
Hatami said the standard reward would be 5 billion tomans, equivalent to $30,000, although the bounty would be doubled if a woman carried out either of the actions.
It’s unclear where such an attack or capture could take place, as the U.S. has not maintained ground forces inside Iran during the nearly six-month war.
Hatami leads Iran’s conventional army, which is mainly responsible for defending Iranian territory. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force traditionally handles overseas operations and support for regional militias.
U.S. forces did enter the country in April to rescue two airmen after their F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iranian territory.
A woman checks her cell phone at Islamic Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 15, 2026. Iranian Army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami said Aug. 16, 2026, that women who kill or capture U.S. service members would receive double the $30,000 reward offered to men, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting President Donald Trump being grabbed by the neck alongside the message “Revenge is inevitable” in English and Farsi, in Tehran, Iran, on July 27, 2026. Iran announced a bounty Aug. 16, 2026, for the killing or capture of U.S. service members amid the ongoing conflict, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Iranian authorities offered a reward at the time for capturing the airmen alive, but both were recovered by U.S. forces in separate rescue operations.
More than 50,000 American service members are stationed in the Middle East. U.S. bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and elsewhere in the region have repeatedly come under Iranian attack during the conflict.
Three U.S. service members were killed in an Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan last month, bringing to 18 the number of American war dead in the conflict, according to Pentagon figures. All of the deaths occurred outside Iran.
The Pentagon’s latest casualty accounting also shows that nearly 700 U.S. troops have been wounded during the war.
Iran began attacking U.S. installations across the region with missiles and drones after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 started the war. A number of senior Iranian leaders were killed in those initial strikes.
Hatami described the blows inflicted by Iran on the U.S. as “severe and devastating.”
“Everyone should know that under no circumstances can American bases return to their previous state,” Hatami was quoted as saying by IRNA.
His comments came two days after President Donald Trump threatened to declare the Strait of Hormuz part of U.S. territory. Earlier in the week, Trump asserted that the U.S. had “total control” of the strait.
It has become a central point of contention during the war. Shipping through the vital commercial waterway has fallen sharply because of the fighting, contributing to higher oil and gasoline prices.
Trump acknowledged the effect on American consumers last week and said they should accept higher gasoline prices as the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.