The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information on key leaders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under its Rewards for Justice program. The program's announcement says the reward is aimed at individuals who command and direct various elements of the IRGC and its component branches.
According to the State Department, the IRGC is an official branch of Iran's military that the U.S. government says plans, organizes, and executes terrorism around the world. The announcement states the IRGC plays a central role in Iran's employment of terrorism as a tool of statecraft.
The State Department communication says the IRGC has created, supported, and directed other terrorist groups and has been responsible for numerous attacks targeting Americans and U.S. facilities, including attacks that have killed U.S. citizens. It further notes that, since its founding in 1979, the IRGC has assumed a substantial role in carrying out Iran's foreign policy and now exerts control over large segments of Iran's economy while also being influential in domestic politics.
The announcement references prior U.S. actions against the IRGC. On April 15, 2019, the Department of State designated the IRGC, including the IRGC-Qods Force, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated the IRGC as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 for its activities in support of the IRGC-Qods Force.
Those designations carry legal consequences, the State Department said. As a result, all property and interests in property of the IRGC that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with the IRGC. The announcement also emphasizes that it is a criminal offense to knowingly provide, attempt to provide, or conspire to provide material support or resources to the IRGC.
The reward offer seeks information on several named individuals and others who hold positions across Iran's political and security structures. Named figures in the announcement include Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Asghar Hejazi, Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, Ali Larijani, Brig. Gen. Eskandar Momeni, and Esmail Khatib. The notice also cites positions within the Supreme Leader Office, the Supreme National Security Council, and various ministerial roles as relevant to the information being sought.
The State Department framed the reward as part of its broader counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts, using the Rewards for Justice mechanism to solicit information that could aid U.S. authorities in identifying and locating individuals who, according to the announcement, direct or facilitate terrorist activity on behalf of the IRGC and its component branches.
Context and presentation
The announcement reiterates longstanding U.S. policy designations and legal restrictions that apply to the IRGC. It lists specific individuals and offices of interest and highlights the legal ramifications of interaction with the organization under U.S. law. The Department of State did not, in the announcement referenced here, provide additional operational details or identify further targets beyond those named.