The U.S. government is offering up to $10 million and the opportunity to relocate to the U.S. for information leading to the whereabouts of senior Iranian officials.
The State Department announced Friday that the reward targets 10 key leaders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The program invites Iranian citizens and others with knowledge of the officials’ locations to submit tips through secure channels.
Officials said information can be provided through a Tor browser tip line or the encrypted messaging platform Signal.
The initiative is part of the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, which has long offered financial incentives for intelligence on terrorism suspects and hostile actors.
The targeted individuals are described as senior figures within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the U.S. government classifies as a terrorist organization.
The list includes several well-known figures inside Iran’s ruling structure.
Among them are Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and national security adviser Ali Larijani.
Other names include Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.
Four additional figures are listed only by their positions rather than by name.
Those positions include the secretary of Iran’s defense council and the chief of the country’s military office.
Officials say the unnamed figures were left unidentified because of recent leadership changes within Iran’s government.
Those changes followed a series of major military developments in the region.
Iran’s leadership structure was shaken after the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28.
Since then, several new figures have stepped into positions of influence within the Iranian government.
The State Department’s reward offer does not include every member of Iran’s leadership.
Several prominent figures were notably absent from the list.
Among those omitted were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi.
Those three officials collectively assumed leadership responsibilities in Iran following the assassination of the former supreme leader, per the New York Post.
The announcement also came as several Iranian officials appeared publicly in Tehran during a large pro-Palestinian demonstration.
Larijani, Pezeshkian, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were among those seen marching during the event.
Despite their public appearances, none of those figures were included on the State Department’s reward list.
The move represents a significant escalation in the U.S. campaign to pressure Iran’s military leadership.
Offering relocation to the United States alongside a large financial reward signals that Washington is attempting to encourage insiders to defect or provide intelligence.
Programs like Rewards for Justice have been used in the past to track terrorism suspects and other high-value targets.
Historically, the United States has used creative methods to identify wanted officials during wartime.
One famous example came during the 2003 Iraq War, when U.S. forces issued playing cards featuring members of Saddam Hussein’s government.
The cards were distributed to soldiers to help them identify key targets during the invasion.
The new reward campaign follows a series of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
In recent weeks, military strikes, political upheaval inside Iran, and rising geopolitical pressure have intensified the conflict between the two countries.
By offering millions of dollars and relocation to the U.S., American officials appear to be betting that someone inside Iran’s power structure may be willing to talk.
