US offers reward for information on Iran’s supreme leader, senior officials
- Summary
- US targets 10 officials linked to Iran’s IRGC
- Mojtaba Khamenei injured, not seen publicly since strikes
- Iran denies US terrorism allegations, calls them baseless
March 13 (Reuters) – The United States is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including its new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
The reward targets 10 officials associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the State Department website. The military force, created after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, 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 along with 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 in the strikes, hasn’t been seen publicly since, although he released his first statement on Thursday.
In addition to the supreme leader, the U.S. is seeking information about Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and two officials in Khamenei’s office.