A speaker on Iranian state television during the funeral of Iranian terror chief Qasem Soleimani on Sunday attempted to offer an $80 million bounty for President Donald Trump – but told the audience 80 million Muslims each had to pitch in $1 to cover the cost.
Iran is home to an estimated 80 million people. The speaker appeared to be making the inspirational point that, together, Iranians could do anything, including prompt the assassination of the President of the United States.
London-based Iranian opposition journalist M. Hanif Jazayeri first circulated the clip with English subtitles on Twitter, which appeared to air on live coverage of the funeral in Iran. The Iranian regime controls all information legally broadcast in the country.
OMG! Iran's regime just announced an $80 million bounty for anyone who brings the head of @realDonaldTrump for killing Soleimani.
PS: Iran's ppl however are overjoyed at Soleimani's death. As the #IranProtests have shown, they long for an end to the mullahs' tyranny #FreeIran2020 pic.twitter.com/uB3zOG5EKA— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 5, 2020
“If everyone anywhere in the world supports our initiative in Mashhad, on behalf of all of Iran’s people — 80 million Iranians — and each puts aside $1 US, it would equal $80 million,” the man is heard saying over footage of funeral events.
The man, offering a eulogy, continued:
We would give this $80 million, on our own behalf, as a gift to anyone who brings the head of the person who ordered the murder of the grand figure of our revolution – anyone who brings us the head of this yellow-haired lunatic, we would give him $80 million on behalf of the great Iranian nation.
The man did not clarify who he referred to as “we” or, more specifically, if he was speaking on behalf of the Iranian regime, in the clip.
The offer, which the man specified he could not afford, circulating online prompted comedian George Lopez to respond that he would “do it” for $40 million, instead.
Soleimani was the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s Quds Force and is believed to have been responsible for at least 500 American deaths and thousands of casualties during his tenure. He led Iran’s international infiltration efforts in Iraq, Syria, and abroad in countries like Venezuela.
President Trump authorized an airstrike to eliminate Soleimani last week in response to a pro-Iran mob attacking the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The mob wrote, “Soleimani is our commander” in spray paint on the building.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei responded to the strike with threats of “severe revenge” for “the criminals who bloodied their foul hands with [Soleimani’s] blood,” vowing that “God willing, his work and his path will not be stopped.”
The offer of a bounty followed by a fundraising attempt highlights the Iranian regime’s poor financial state after years of increasing sanctions since Trump took office.
In June 2019, American officials said they had evidence President Trump’s sanctions on Iran had forced its proxy, Hezbollah, to beg for spare change using “piggy banks” placed in grocery stores and retail outlets.
Last week, it was reported that President Trump’s sanctions on Iran have effectively wiped out President Barack Obama’s $150 billion Nuclear Deal.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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