The US has announced a reward of up to $10 million (around ₹92.47 crore) for information about Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and several other senior officials linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The offer was made public on Friday through the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme, which is run by the Diplomatic Security Service.
According to the statement, the individuals named in the announcement are responsible for directing elements of the IRGC, which the US accuses of planning and executing terrorist operations worldwide. The statement said anyone with information about these leaders or other key figures within the IRGC could submit tips through a Tor-based tipline or the encrypted messaging app Signal. Informants may be eligible for financial rewards and possible relocation.
Among those listed are Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Asghar Hejazi, the deputy chief of staff of the Supreme Leader’s office, and Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani. In several cases, the announcement displayed silhouettes instead of photographs because images of some of the individuals were not available.
The bounty announcement comes amid an escalating conflict between Iran and a US-Israel alliance that has now entered its third week. The military campaign began on February 28 with strikes that killed Iran’s former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, triggering a wider regional confrontation.
US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News Radio that American forces would intensify their attacks in the coming days. “We’re going to be hitting them very hard over the next week,” Trump said, suggesting the campaign could significantly weaken Iran’s leadership.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that US and Israeli forces have already struck more than 15,000 targets since the start of the offensive, averaging over 1,000 strikes per day. He said the attacks have sharply reduced Iran’s ability to retaliate, with missile attacks reportedly dropping by 90 per cent and drone strikes by 95 per cent.
The conflict has also shaken global energy markets after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply normally passes. Oil prices have surged above $100 per barrel as fears grow of a prolonged disruption to global energy supplies.
