WASHINGTON: The United States State Department has announced a bounty of $10 million for intelligence leading to Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, alongside several other high-ranking Iranian officials.
The move on Friday (local time) follows an escalation in regional hostilities after coordinated US-Israeli strikes targeted Iranian military installations, which were met with retaliatory missile and drone offensives across the Middle East on February 28.
The incentive was launched via the State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” initiative. This programme provides financial compensation for information that assists in finding or bringing to justice individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism directed at the United States.
In addition to Khamenei, the programme’s updated list includes Iran’s interior minister and the minister of intelligence and security. In a social media update, Rewards for Justice stated, “Got information on these Iranian terrorist leaders? Send us a tip. It could make you eligible for a reward and relocation.”
Got information on these Iranian terrorist leaders?
Send us a tip. It could make you eligible for a reward and relocation. pic.twitter.com/y7avkqdGWw
— Rewards for Justice (@RFJ_USA) March 13, 2026
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump claimed that the Iranian government is “about to surrender” in the face of the ongoing Middle East crisis.
According to Axios, which cited officials from G7 nations, the President made these comments during a virtual summit with world leaders on Wednesday. During the Group of Seven discussions regarding the results of Operation “Epic Fury,” Trump reportedly told allies that he had “got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all.”
As the regional conflict enters its second week with persistent drone and missile exchanges, the US President launched a scathing verbal attack on Tehran’s leadership, labelling them “deranged scumbags.”
He further remarked that it was his “great honour” to eliminate them. Discussing the extensive military campaign against Iran, the President asserted that Washington is conducting operations to “destroy the terrorist regime of Iran” through military means. (ANI)
