The State Department is offering Iranian citizens a chance to receive a bounty worth up to $10 million for information on 10 key regime leaders, including the new supreme leader.
The department’s premier national security rewards program announced the prize on Friday, asking the Iranian people for information on the whereabouts of the senior officials.
On top of the reward, Iranians may get the chance to relocate to the United States amid the war in the Middle East.
This demonstrates how the Trump administration is adamant in seeking to incapacitate the Islamic regime, which is reeling from coordinated U.S. and Israeli military campaigns.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his slain father on Sunday, tops the list. The former ayatollah, 86-year-old Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Tehran on Feb. 28.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to be hiding in an underground bunker, was described by War Secretary Pete Hegseth as “wounded and likely disfigured” earlier on Friday. Ever since the supreme leader released his first statement through a mediator on Thursday, there has been speculation that he’s in a coma. His father typically made public statements on state television.
Among the other Iranian officials the U.S. wants to target are Khamenei’s deputy chief of staff, Ali Asghar Hejazi; top national security official Ali Larijani; and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni. The names of four leaders were not disclosed in the State Department’s post.
HEGSETH POURS DOUBT ON ABILITY OF NEW SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI
The U.S.’s “Operation Epic Fury” will enter its third week on Saturday. The conflict is expected to last four to five weeks, but the timeline may change depending on circumstances.
The U.S. military is destroying most of Iran’s retaliatory capabilities. Earlier Friday, Hegseth estimated Iranian missiles are “down 90%,” and attack drones are “down 95%” in terms of their launch frequency. Also, Iran’s navy has lost between 50 and 60 vessels so far.