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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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A fatwa, or religious decree, issued by senior Iranian clerics calling for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump has attracted online funding worth tens of millions of dollars, reports say.
Momentum over such a decree has been growing since Trump's order of U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last month after Israel launched Operation Rising Lion with the goal of destroying the Islamic Republic's ability to make a nuclear bomb.
Why It Matters
Trump faced assassination threats from Iran following his order in 2020 to kill Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
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After last month's U.S. strikes on Iran, senior cleric Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi issued a fatwa declaring that anyone who threatens Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is "an enemy of God," which was interpreted as a threat against Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Other hard-line clerics in Iran have issued similar edicts.
While not legally enforceable, a fatwa can influence judicial decisions where there are Sharia-based legal systems. The one against Trump has been compared to the order against the author Salman Rushdie, which led to assassination attempts.
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What To Know
Iran International, an outlet in London, reported that clerics issued a letter on Monday referring to Trump and Netanyahu as "infidel combatants," an Islamic legal term for a nonbeliever at war with Muslims who deserves death.
According to the outlet, the Iranian website thaar.ir has said it is raising money for the assassination of Trump and has received $40,286,867. Newsweek has not confirmed the authenticity of this figure.
Iran International said the fatwa calling for the killing of Trump and Netanyahu had gained support from about 10 other clerics and attracted fundraising online.
It reported that Mansour Emami, another cleric in Iran's West Azerbaijan Province, announced a reward of 100 billion tomans ($1.14 million) for anyone who killed Trump.
The cleric Alireza Panahian called on Muslims to kill Trump and Netanyahu in retaliation for their threats on Khamenei. Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani previously declared separate fatwas.
Two of those clerics are on the website thaar.ri. According to a translation, the site said it was campaigning against "U.S. state terrorism" and that the funds it raised would be received by those "who carry out the sentence of justice."
Iran expert, Hamidreza Azizi, told Newsweek on Thursday that the fatwa should be seen through the lens of Iranian domestic politics and factional rivalries.
This is because the clerics who have issued or endorsed the threats belong to an ultra-hard-line camp inherently against any diplomatic engagements with the U.S. or the West.
"Although they do not express it openly, but to them even Khamenei is considered a soft person," said Azizi, a research fellow at the German think tank SWP Berlin. "They are not as loyal to Khamenei's decisions and directives as many other supporters of the regime."
"They have a political agenda in opposing the talks. Over the years they became so powerful, and Khamenei—in order to contain the moderates and reformists—gave them a free hand to the extent that now they are very difficult to control," Azizi continued.
With a post-Khamenei transition looming, this hard-line camp within the Islamic Republic is trying to spread its narrative, strengthen its ranks and make a distinction between its agenda and the others, he added.
In comments reported on Wednesday, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a former senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, told Iranian state TV that Trump "can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago," suggesting that he could be attacked by an Iranian drone.
Larijani appeared to be joking in the exchange, and Trump laughed off the suggestion when a Fox News reporter asked him about the last time he went sunbathing. Trump replied that it had "been a long time." He added, "I'm not sure it's a threat actually, but perhaps it is."
A Secret Service spokesperson told Newsweek on Wednesday that it operated "in a heightened and very dynamic threat environment." They added, "The safety and security of the President and all of our protectees remains our highest priority."
What People Are Saying
The Iranian website thaar.ir said: "The above sum ($40,286, 867) will be received by the people who have committed themselves to any freedman who will carry out the sentence of justice."
Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a former senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, per Iran International: "Trump has done something so that he can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago. … A small drone might hit him in the navel."
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday: "I guess it's a threat. I'm not sure it's a threat actually, but perhaps it is."
A spokesperson for the United States Secret Service told Newsweek: "To preserve operational integrity, we cannot comment on specific protective intelligence matters. However, our teams work around the clock with international, federal, state, and local partners to ensure the highest levels of protection."
What Happens Next
Tehran launched a missile attack on a U.S. base in Qatar on June 23, but speculation remains over whether it will retaliate further. There is also speculation about the location of Iran's enriched uranium, which is said to have been shifted before American strikes on its nuclear facilities.
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