Iranian ministers are preparing legislation that would place multimillion-pound bounties on the heads of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during joint US-Israeli strikes.
The proposed law, currently being drafted in Tehran, would reportedly offer rewards worth £43.5 million to anyone who assassinates either leader, in what would mark one of the most explicit state-backed threats issued by Iran against Western and Israeli political figures.
Iranian officials say the legislation is being prepared under the title “Reciprocal action by military and security forces of the Islamic Republic”.
Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of Iran’s national security commission, said Mr Trump should face retaliation for ordering the operation that killed Mr Khamenei.
“As Trump ordered the killing of Ali Khamenei, he himself should be dealt with by every Muslim and every free person,” he said, according to Iranian state media.
Another senior lawmaker, Mahmood Nabavian, warned the proposed rewards were intended for sending “Trump and Netanyahu to hell”.
“The vile American and Zionist officials, as well as the heads of regional countries, should know that if any aggression takes place this time, we will destroy them along with their palaces,” he said.
The threats come amid escalating tensions following the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, which triggered fears of a broader regional war before diplomatic intervention from Gulf states helped temporarily halt further escalation.
Mr Trump said he had paused a planned large-scale military strike against Iran after appeals from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and leaders in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Writing on Truth Social, the US President said he had agreed to delay the operation but warned that a “full, large-scale assault” remained ready “on a moment’s notice” if negotiations failed.
Washington has insisted any future agreement must permanently prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, though officials have suggested talks remain deadlocked.
One senior US official told Axios that “we are really not making a lot of progress”, warning that failure to reach a deal could leave military confrontation as the only remaining option.
Mr Trump has previously declared that any Iranian attempt on his life would trigger overwhelming retaliation, warning Tehran he would order forces to “wipe them off the face of the Earth” if such an attack occurred.
The latest developments underline how rapidly the confrontation between Iran, Israel and the United States has intensified, with threats of assassination, military escalation and regional destabilisation now moving increasingly into the open.
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