The United States government has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information on senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
The reward, according to the U.S. State Department website, targets 10 officials linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — a military force created after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution that is loyal to the supreme leader and tasked with protecting the Shi’ite clerical establishment.
Mojtaba Khamenei recently succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s supreme leader after the elder Khamenei was killed alongside several other top Iranian officials in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes that began on February 28.
The younger Khamenei, believed to have been injured during the strikes, has not been seen publicly since, although he issued his first statement on Thursday.
In addition to the supreme leader, the U.S. is seeking information on other top Iranian officials, including Security Chief Ali Larijani, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, and two officials working in Khamenei’s office.
Larijani, however, appeared on Friday in videos verified by Reuters, alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi at a rally in Tehran.
This comes despite U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claiming that Iran’s leadership was “cowering” underground.
The reward listing also includes four other officials, including the IRGC commander and Secretary of the Defense Council, though their names and photos were not disclosed.
“These individuals command and direct various elements of the IRGC, which plans, organizes, and executes terrorism around the world,” the State Department said.
Attempts to reach the Revolutionary Guards for comment on Friday were unsuccessful, as it is the weekly day of rest in Iran. Similarly, Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. has designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, accusing it of attacks that have killed American citizens.
Washington has also alleged that Iran orchestrated assassination plots against President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
Iran, however, has consistently denied sponsoring terrorism. Iranian officials routinely dismiss U.S. allegations as politically motivated attacks, arguing that Washington uses such claims to justify pressure campaigns or sanctions.
