Donald Trump
An Iran-backed militia umbrella calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) has announced a $10 million reward for anyone who kills US President Donald Trump. The group claimed it is retaliation for the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.According to Iran-owned Press TV, the group said the money had been collected through donations from its members and supporters.In a statement dated July 16, the group said it was offering the reward to “whoever kills the criminal Trump, or whoever eliminates him personally, directs others to do so, or facilitates it as an individual, group, organisation or institution.”It said the reward was announced following what it described as Trump’s “boasting” about his role in the killing of Soleimani and al-Muhandis. “The money had been collected through donations from its members and supporters,” the statement added.The group accused Trump of bearing responsibility for the deaths of Soleimani and al-Muhandis and called on individuals, groups and organisations to either carry out or facilitate the assassination.The announcement came after Trump publicly referred to the 2020 drone strike during a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi. During the meeting, Trump defended the operation that killed Soleimani and Muhandis. According to Arab news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat, Trump said, “I killed him in my first administration. Had I not, it might be a different story today… I actually think the leaders of Iran were afraid of Soleimani.”Without naming al-Muhandis, Trump added, “By the way, a very bad person went with him. They happened to meet at the airport, and a very bad person from Iraq, a leader there, was killed in the same incident.” Al-Zaidi responded saying, “At that time, I wasn’t working in politics.”Separately, the family of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis criticised the Iraqi prime minister’s response, saying Trump’s remarks “clearly show his fear.””Whoever distances himself from his country’s honorable past severs his connection to the roots of his nation, and whoever’s past is marked by falsehood is not worthy of leading the future,” the family said in a statement on Wednesday.The latest threat comes after Trump survived multiple assassination attempts during the 2024 US presidential campaign.The most serious occurred on July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman opened fire, grazing Trump’s ear.Weeks later, another alleged assassination plot was foiled near Trump’s golf course in Florida, where authorities arrested a suspect after Secret Service agents intervened before any shots were fired.US prosecutors have also alleged in separate cases that individuals linked to Iran attempted to recruit people to assassinate Trump in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani. Iran has denied involvement in those alleged plots.
