Iran shifts from shoot-on-sight to capture orders for U.S. crew
Iranian officials initially instructed anyone in the vicinity of the crash to shoot any American pilot or crew on sight. Local state TV first published a bulletin from the local police requesting locals “to target pilot or pilots on sight,” however the bulletin was quickly amended to “inform the police and authorities on sight.”
Later, the official instructions shifted once again, telling locals there would be a reward for the capture of any American military members they may find, likely to try to use a U.S. service member as a bargaining chip in negotiations over ending the war. Official messages offered “a valuable reward to anybody who arrests and hands over the enemy pilot or pilots alive.”
While the official reward offered by the authorities was not disclosed, local merchants and industrialists were quick to offer amounts ranging from $60,000-$100,000 to anyone who would hand in the U.S. crew. Provincial officials quickly issued communiques, requesting inhabitants “to search for the downed enemy fighter pilot,” promising that “the person or persons who succeed in arresting or killing the hostile enemy forces will be specially commended by the provincial governor.”
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