US offers $10m reward for information on top Iranian leaders

The United States is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about high-ranking Iranian military and intelligence leaders, including the new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. This reward is aimed at ten officials linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as stated on the State Department's website. The IRGC, established after Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, remains loyal to the supreme leader and is responsible for safeguarding the Shiite clerical system. Mojtaba Khamenei took over as supreme leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed along with several other senior Iranian officials in joint US and Israeli strikes that began on February 28. The younger Khamenei, who is believed to have been hurt in these strikes, has not been seen publicly since but issued his first statement on Thursday. The US is also looking for information on Iran's security chief Ali Larijani, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, and two officials from Khamenei’s office. Larijani was seen in videos confirmed by Reuters on Friday, where he appeared with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi at a rally in Tehran, contradicting US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's claim that Iran’s leaders were hiding underground. The reward website mentions four other officials, including the commander of the IRGC and the defense council’s secretary, but it does not provide their names or photos. The State Department stated, “These individuals command and direct various elements of the IRGC, which plans, organizes, and executes terrorism around the world.” The IRGC could not be reached for comments on Friday, which is their weekly day of rest. Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York also did not respond right away to a request for comments. The US has classified the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, claiming it is responsible for attacks that have led to the deaths of US citizens. Washington has further accused Iran of planning assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump and other US officials in response to the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani in 2020.