US announces $10 Million bounty on Iran’s new Supreme Leader amid ‘Operation Epic Fury’
New Delhi: The United States has intensified its military and diplomatic pressure on Tehran by offering a reward of up to $10 million (approx. ₹92.5 crore) for information on Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and several high-ranking officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The bounty, announced Friday via the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, comes as the US-led military campaign, Operation Epic Fury, enters its third week of heavy airstrikes across Iran.
The reward targets Mojtaba Khamenei, who was recently appointed as the third Supreme Leader following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in a joint US-Israeli strike on February 28. Along with the new leader, the US is seeking information on:
- Ali Asghar Hejazi: Deputy Chief of Staff to the Supreme Leader
- Ali Larijani: Iran’s Security Chief and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
- Secretary of the Defense Council
- Advisor to the Supreme Leader
- Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi SLO Military Adviser
- Military Office Chief, SLO
- Esmail Khatib: Minister of Intelligence and Security.
- Brig. Gen. Eskandar Momeni Minister of the interior
- The IRGC Commander
US officials allege these individuals command IRGC elements that "plan, organize, and execute terrorism around the world."
Mojtaba Khamenei: Wounded and disfigured?
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on Friday that Mojtaba Khamenei was "wounded and likely disfigured" during the initial February 28 strikes that targeted the clerical leadership in Tehran. While Iranian state media released a written statement from Mojtaba on Thursday vowing to continue the war, he has not appeared in public since assuming office, fueling speculation about his condition.
Operation Epic Fury: The military toll
The US-Israeli air campaign has reached unprecedented levels of intensity. Secretary Hegseth revealed that more than 15,000 targets have been struck in less than 14 days.
US intelligence suggests Iranian missile launch volumes have plummeted by 90%. One-way attack drone launches are reportedly down by 95%.
Hegseth claimed Iran’s defense industrial base is nearing "complete destruction," with production lines for ballistic missiles functionally defeated.
The conflict has triggered a crisis in global energy markets. Following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for 20% of the world’s oil, prices have surged past $100 per barrel.