Live Update From the Liveblog of Sunday, August 16, 2026 By AFP16 August 2026, 4:42 pm Iran’s military announces that it is offering a bounty equivalent to $30,000 for killing or capturing US soldiers, with the reward doubled if carried out by a woman. Army chief Amir Hatami claims the plan was drawn up following “the large number of requests” to participate in the financial support, according to the IRNA state news agency. There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot. Hatami does not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place. “Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami says, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials. “Courageous Iranian women who carry out such an action will receive double the reward,” he adds. This photo released on January 7, 2026, by the Iranian Army media office shows Iran's army chief Amir Hatami speaking to military academy students in Tehran. (Handout / Iranian Army Media Office / AFP)