Iran Raises $40M in Bounty Campaign to Kill Trump
Despite regime denials, clerics call for "holy retribution" over nuclear strikes
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Seventeen days after JFeed exposed a chilling campaign by Iran-linked Telegram groups offering an $18 million bounty for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump, the plot has escalated. A shadowy group calling itself "Blood Covenant", reportedly connected to the Iranian regime, has now raised over $40 million through an online crowdfunding campaign aimed at facilitating Trump’s assassination.
According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the group is operating under the “protection of the Iranian regime” and has received spiritual and logistical backing from at least ten state-appointed clerics. These clerics have issued jihadist fatwas, labeling Trump the “Enemy of Allah” and promising eternal paradise, financial rewards, and the title of “Defender of Islam” to anyone who carries out the killing.
One such figure, Cleric Azari, appointed by the regime to the West Azerbaijan province, reportedly offered a personal reward of 100 billion toman (approximately $1.14 million) for anyone who could “bring Trump’s head.”
The campaign was launched in response to Trump’s authorization of airstrikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year - a move that enraged conservative religious circles within Iran. Blood Covenant’s website, still online at the time of writing, features Quranic verses, martyrdom slogans, and donation options for what it calls a “holy mission of Islamic justice.”
Official Denials, Covert Signals
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a recent interview, denied any connection between his government or Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the assassination campaign. However, Western intelligence officials say this fits a well-known pattern in Tehran: outsourcing terrorism to regime-affiliated “civilian” actors while maintaining official deniability.
“This is state-sponsored terror by proxy,” said one counterterrorism analyst. “They’re using clerics, nonprofits, and encrypted social media platforms to raise funds and incite violence without leaving diplomatic fingerprints.”
Previous Assassination Attempts and Plots
The U.S. Justice Department revealed in 2024 that a Pakistani national with suspected ties to Iran was charged with plotting to kill Trump and other senior U.S. officials. In a separate case, three U.S. citizens were indicted for allegedly conspiring to assassinate Trump, with one claiming to have been offered $500,000 by an IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) contact - either for killing Trump or for targeting prominent Jewish-American figures.
From Threat to Action?
While the new $40 million figure may still seem like psychological warfare, U.S. and Israeli security officials are treating the threat as credible, especially in light of the broader Iranian campaign of revenge for recent military setbacks and sabotage of its nuclear infrastructure.
Trump’s security team has reportedly been reinforced, although the U.S. Secret Service has not issued an official statement. The larger concern is not just direct IRGC involvement, but the possibility of radicalized lone actors, militias, or foreign mercenaries acting under the ideological and financial inspiration of these fatwas.
This latest development marks a significant escalation in what analysts call Tehran’s hybrid war doctrine - one that blends cyber incitement, spiritual mobilization, and plausible deniability into a highly dangerous geopolitical weapon.
Editor’s Note: This article follows up on our July 6 report, which first revealed Iran-linked Telegram channels offering an $18 million bounty on Trump. The current development reflects a doubling down on that message - now with broader clerical involvement, greater funding, and an explicit call to jihad.