The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on Iranʼs new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other senior regime officials.
This announcement appeared on the State Departmentʼs social media on March 13.
The message was published as part of the Rewards for Justice program, aimed at collecting information about those involved in structures that the US considers responsible for planning and carrying out terrorist operations.
The wanted list includes ten senior Iranian officials, but only six of them are named.
In addition to Iranʼs new leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the US is seeking information about his chief of staff Ali Asghar Hejazi, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, the Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader Yahya Rahim Safavi, the Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatiba, and the Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni.
The US State Department is also offering a reward for information on four other senior officials of the Ayatollahʼs regime, including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the secretary of the Defense Council, but it does not specify their names.
"These individuals command and direct various units of the IRGC, which plans, organizes, and carries out terrorist acts around the world," the State Department said in a statement.
What preceded
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials. A new ayatollah was elected on March 8, and he was Mojtaba Khamenei (the son of the deceased Ali Khamenei).
The media reported that he was wounded on the first day of the war, so he did not appear in public. His parents and wife were also killed in that attack.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump has told his aides that he would support eliminating Iranʼs new supreme leader if he refuses to comply with US demands.
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, has begun shelling US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE and firing missiles at Israel. Some Iranian drones and missiles have hit infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries.
At the same time, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has almost stopped. This is a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. About a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports pass through it — tens of millions of barrels a day. Oil, gas and precious metals have risen sharply in price.
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