The United States put in $10 million (trans ₹83 million) bounty on Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtab Khamenei and a group of senior Iranian officials linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in one of Washington DC’s most aggressive intelligence gambits against Tehran since the war began. The bulletin released by the US identified six people including Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and top national security official Ali Larijani.
Washington is targeting Iran’s new power structure
The State Department has formally included Mojtab Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the newly installed Supreme Leader of Iran, in its Rewards for Justice program, along with several high-ranking figures in Iran’s security and intelligence apparatus.
Officials singled out the bounty as part of a broader campaign to disrupt the operational networks of the IRGC, which Washington accuses of orchestrating attacks on US personnel and providing material support to designated terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East and beyond.
Who is on America’s bounty list?
The State Department has officially included Mojtaba Khamenei in its Rewards for Justice program, along with several high-ranking figures who are part of Iran’s security and intelligence apparatus.
In addition to Mojtaba Khamenei himself, the Rewards for Justice program names Ali Asghar Hejazi, deputy chief of staff of the Office of the Supreme Leader, and Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council—two figures who are at the very heart of Iran’s post-Khamenei governance architecture.
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The list extends further into the Iranian security establishment. Yahya Rahim Safavi, Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader; Esmail Khatib, Iran’s Minister of Intelligence; and Eskandar Momeni, the country’s interior minister, are all named. Together, the individuals represent a cross-section of the institutional muscle that maintains the power of the Islamic Republic.
IRGC: Why Washington considers them a terrorist engine
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was unequivocal in its assessment of the organization behind these officials. “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), part of Iran’s official military, plays a central role in Iran’s use of terrorism as a key tool of Iranian statecraft,” it said.
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The department went further, detailing the IRGC’s role as sponsor and director of proxy forces: “In addition, the IRGC has created, supported, and directed other terrorist groups. The IRGC is responsible for numerous attacks targeting Americans and American facilities, including those that have killed American citizens.”
From a revolutionary vanguard to an economic and political powerhouse
Analysts note that what makes the IRGC a particularly formidable adversary is that it has long outgrown its original mandate as a revolutionary armed force. “Since its establishment in 1979, the IRGC has acquired a substantial role in the implementation of Iran’s foreign policy,” the ministry noted. “The group now controls large segments of Iran’s economy and has influence over Iran’s domestic politics.”
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This deep institutional entrenchment—spanning the military, business, and political spheres—is precisely what makes intelligence on his leadership so valuable to Washington and so difficult to obtain.
How the Rewards for Justice program works
Administered by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Rewards for Justice initiative allows the United States government to offer financial compensation to individuals who provide credible information leading to the disruption of terrorist networks or the identification of those responsible for attacks against Americans.
The department confirmed that individuals providing verifiable and actionable information could be eligible for rewards of up to $10 million — an amount that reflects the perceived strategic value of penetrating Iran’s most guarded institutions.
